SWIMMING : Evans Responds by Winning 800

For three young women with Olympic-medal aspirations, the results of Thursday evening’s 800-meter freestyle to open the Janet Evans Invitational swim meet at USC held different meanings.

At least that is what they were saying after Janet Evans overwhelmed her main challengers with a meet-record time of 8 minutes 33.16 seconds.

“After all the hype, I was expecting a little more of a race,” said Evans, 23, one of the world’s best distance swimmers for the last decade.

“I’m happy with my time; it was just another race,” said Brooke Bennett, a Florida teen-ager who was second in 8:41.12.

“It’s totally irrelevant right now,” said Trina Jackson, a Florida teen who finished third in 8:46.98.

With the U.S. national championships starting in 25 days at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, results of the midseason meet could be misleading.

But it was clear that Evans, who has not lost in the 800 or 1,500 meters in eight years, was ready to swim as fast as she needed to win.

Was she trying to send a message?

“Some might think it did,” she said of the result.

Evans’ first 200 meters were so fast, neither Bennett, 15, nor Jackson, 17, could recover to post a challenge. Mark Schubert, Evans’ coach, said it was Evans’ best 200 in a long time.

And for those swimmers who had hoped Evans, a two-time Olympian from Placentia, was on the downside of her career, it doesn’t look that way.

Last March, Bennett challenged Evans with statements that have started a swimming rivalry. Evans has downplayed the rivalry, choosing to encourage the American teens to carry on her remarkable tradition after she leaves the sport.

But there was little denying that motivation was increased by who was swimming at USC. Bennett’s coach, Peter Banks, wanted his swimmer to face Evans before the nationals to help reduce Evans’ mystique.

Even though she lost by four body lengths, Bennett was not discouraged.

“Janet’s first 200 is always fast,” Bennett said. “So I knew if I could stay with her, I could make it a race. I was trying to stay as close as I could.”

Bennett was third until the third lap, when she caught Jackson and went after Evans. But Evans increased her lead to four body lengths by 400 meters before Bennett cut the margin in half as Jackson fell farther behind.

Evans quickly regrouped to win easily.

“I realized at 400 or 500 meters there really wasn’t any competition,” she said. “I could have gone faster if I had to.”

She will in Pasadena.

“There will be some great racing between now and [the U.S. trials next March],” Schubert said. “Janet knows there will be a lot of young racers challenging her.”

For instance, Jackson and her coach, Gregg Troy, were pleased with her time Thursday. It was almost 20 seconds faster than her midseason form last year.

In the men’s 800, Mark Warkentin, 15, from Santa Barbara, won in 8:19.04, followed by Warren Wild of West Australia in 8:23.45 and Danny Chocron of Jacksonville, Fla., in 8:26.39. Chad Carvin of Tucson, the U.S. record holder for 1,500 meters, decided not to swim Thursday night because he will not compete in the 800 at the nationals.