OLYMPIC REPORT / 35 DAYS TO THE GAMES

Swimmer’s remorse?

Hardly.

If anything, swimming icon Janet Evans was feeling the exact opposite Thursday night at the Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo. There were no sad feelings considering that this is her final competitive meet in Orange County.

“No, I’m excited to move on,” Evans said. “I want my shoulders to shrink.”

Before Evans, 24, reaches that happy day there are the Olympics next month in Atlanta, her third consecutive appearance in the Games. And Thursday was the beginning of her final tuneup as she easily won the 800-meter freestyle in 8 minutes, 41.72 seconds. Finishing second was a fast-improving 13-year-old Sachiko Yamada of the Japanese Junior National team in 8:47.82.

“I was really happy because I went 8:44 in Phoenix [last month] with a lot more competition,” Evans said. “Today was fast for me and that was good. We’re at that point where I’m ready to taper--where my body is pretty tired and beat up.”

Meanwhile, American sprinter Gary Hall Jr., changed his mind and will race at Mission Viejo. Hall, who has been sidelined because of an ear and sinus infection, decided to compete since he happened to be in Southern California to tape “The Tonight Show” on Thursday anyway.