Evans Moves Closer to Caulkins With 43rd Title in Swimming

Triple Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans won the 800-meter freestyle national title Tuesday in 8:40.66 at the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships.

Evans of Placentia has 43 national titles and is nearing Tracy Caulkins’ record of 48.

Evans beat Jessica Foschi of Brookville, N.Y., by less than a half second at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.

“It would be a great honor to get more titles than Tracy Caulkins,” Evans said. “That is part of my motivation right now, but I am really focused on the 1996 Olympics.

Andy Potts of Princeton, N.J., won the men’s 800 freestyle in 8:10, followed by Mark Warkentin of Santa Barbara in 8:11.31.

It was the first national title for Potts, who set a junior national record in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 1993.

“I was really nervous . . . because I didn’t know what to expect,” Potts said. “I couldn’t hold myself still before the race.”

The Phillips 66 meet continues through Saturday.