Peter Maxwell Evans (born 1 August 1961) is an Australian
breaststroke
Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
swimmer of the 1980s who won four
Olympic medal
An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...
s, including a gold in the
4×100 m medley relay at the
1980 Moscow Olympics as part of the
Quietly Confident Quartet
The Quietly Confident Quartet was the self-given name of the Australian men's 4 × 100 metres medley relay swimming team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States boycotted the Moscow Olymp ...
. He also won consecutive bronze medals in the 100 m breaststroke at the 1980 Olympics and the
1984 Los Angeles Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
.
The son of prominent
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n businessman and politician
Max Evans, Evans had a late start to his swimming career, making his debut at the
Australian Championships
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
in his hometown of
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, aged 17. Despite placing second in the 100 m breaststroke, he was not selected for Australia, and instead travelled to the United Kingdom to train under
David Haller
Legion (David Charles Haller) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the mutant son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. Legion takes the role of an antihero who has a severe mental illne ...
. During this period, he quickly improved his times and rose from outside the top 200 into the top 25 in the world rankings. Evans returned to Australia in 1980 and qualified for the Olympics in both the
100 m
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
and
200 m breaststroke. A sprinter, he won the 100 m in an Australian record time and showed a preference for shorter events, which required less training mileage. Evans gained a reputation for often doing fewer training laps than his coach asked of him.
Having rebuffed
Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
pressure to
boycott the Moscow Olympics in response to the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, Evans won bronze in the 100 m breaststroke. His career peak came in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, when he outsplit his opponents in the breaststroke leg of the relay, bringing Australia into contention for its eventual win, which remains the only time that
the United States has not won the event at Olympic level.
After the Olympics, Evans moved to the United States to study business and compete for the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
. He was less successful in the short-course format used at college level, which placed more reliance on efficient turns. Evans returned to Australia for the
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...
in Brisbane,
winning silver in the 100 m breaststroke and gold in the medley relay. He competed in his second Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, winning bronze in both the
100 m breaststroke and the
medley relay. Evans retired after missing selection for the
1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...
and attempted to follow his father into politics. He
unsuccessfully stood as the candidate for the
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
in the
electoral district of Perth
The Electoral district of Perth is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Perth is named for the capital city of Western Australia whose central business district falls within its borders. It is one of the oldest ...
at the
1986 state election, before pursuing a career in business.
Early years
The second of four children, Evans was born into an affluent family in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. His father
Max was a chartered accountant who went on to become a politician for the Liberal Party in the state's
Upper House
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
.
Max was the president of the
Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a senior partner in the accounting firm founded by Sir
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party.
Early life
Court's family e ...
, then
premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
,
[Howell, p. 241.] who was credited with modernising the state and transforming its
lucrative mining industry.
Max was an honorary member of the
Australian Chamber of Commerce. The Evans family had a sporting pedigree. Max had been a state champion athletics sprinter at youth level and won a gold, a silver and three bronze medals as part of Western Australian relay teams at the
Australian Championships
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
. Evans' mother Barbara, a physiotherapist, was a capable swimmer and won a
half-blue in
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
at the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
.
Evans attended the exclusive
Scotch College in Perth for his entire primary and high school years. He was initially a self-taught swimmer, having observed his father in the water. He recalled that "As I didn't like to get up early, I didn't get swim instruction until my sixth grade at Scotch College".
Evans later trained and competed for the school swimming team in summer as well as the
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
team. Evans enjoyed success in all four strokes at school level, but was most proficient at breaststroke and chose to specialise in it, commenting that "I'd rather be good at one stroke than mediocre in four".
Thereafter, he was undefeated in breaststroke at school level. Evans learned the "whip kick" from Ian Dickson, brother of Olympic freestyle swimming medallist
David Dickson. Evans later honed his endurance ability under Kevin Duff and his sprinting ability under Bernie Mulroy.
National debut
In November 1978, Evans broke the Western Australian record for the 100 m breaststroke during his final year at school. He and his father decided that he should step up his swimming career, and Evans entered the 1979 Australian Championships in Perth. Despite only four weeks of solid training leading up to the meet, Evans came second to
Lindsay Spencer. Evans was omitted from the Australian squad that toured Britain because he was an unknown swimmer. After the meet, Evans vowed to become an elite swimmer and Olympian.
A week later, Evans travelled to England to train at
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in London under
David Haller
Legion (David Charles Haller) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the mutant son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. Legion takes the role of an antihero who has a severe mental illne ...
, coach of future Olympic breaststroke gold medallist
Duncan Goodhew
Duncan Alexander Goodhew, (born 27 May 1957) is an English former competitive swimmer. After swimming competitively in America as a collegian at North Carolina State University, he was an Olympic swimmer for Great Britain and won Olympic gold a ...
.
Evans did so feeling that there was insufficient coaching support for breaststrokers in Australia.
In three months of training in London, Evans had risen up the breaststroke rankings from outside the top 200 into the top 25. He returned to Australia and won selection in the national team for the
FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Cup in Japan, before returning to London for more training.
Evans returned to Australia in 1980 to compete at the Australian Championships, which doubled as the Olympic trials. His sojourn in the United Kingdom meant that he was a virtual unknown in his home country. He set a national record in winning the 100 m breaststroke in a time of 1 m 4.80 s and also qualified for his less preferred 200 m event. During the Olympic training camp in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, the Australian coaches tried to get Evans to cover more mileage at training. Evans' teammates recalled him stopping during a pool session and emphatically proclaiming that "Work is a poor substitute for talent".
In 2000, more than a decade after his retirement, he was still using this slogan.
[Forrest, pp. 241–242.] Evans was confident in his own training methods and refused to bend to the coaches.
His teammate
Mark Tonelli
Mark Lyndon Tonelli (born 13 April 1957), whose birth name was Mark Lyndon Leembruggen, is an Australian former backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold in the 4×100-metre medley relay at the 1980 ...
said that Evans "knew what he was capable of and as far as he was concerned, he was capable of anything".
1980 Moscow Olympics
Having qualified to swim for Australia, another obstacle arose with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which resulted in a boycott of the Games by a large part of the Western world, led by the United States. The Australian prime minister,
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
, was also the patron of the
Australian Olympic Committee
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
, and significant political pressure came to bear on the athletes to boycott the Games. Evans' relay teammate Tonelli believed that only the sportspeople would suffer from a boycott and that trade relations would continue unabated. He took a leadership role among the athletes to fight for their right to compete and publicise their cause among the Australian public.
[Howell, p. 249.][Gordon, p. 334.] Evans was fully supportive of Tonelli's campaign, reflecting that "We were political tools, and the only ones to suffer would be us."
He rhetorically asked: "Do you really think that if we didn't go someone would come up to us after the Games and pat us on the back for not going?"
[Howell, p. 242.]
Having arrived in Moscow, Evans' first event was the 100 m breaststroke, which the Soviets were favoured to win. Evans' former flat-mate and training partner Goodhew was another of the favourites.
Evans placed equal first in his heat and advanced to the final as the fourth-fastest qualifier,
along with Goodhew, two Soviets and fellow Australian Spencer. In a hard-fought final, Goodhew won the gold medal, while Evans narrowly missed out on silver, finishing 0.14 s behind the Soviet Union's
Arsens Miskarovs
Arsens Miskarovs (born 3 March 1961) is a Latvian former breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics for the Soviet Union.
References
1961 births
Living people
Latvian male breaststroke swimmers
Olympic swimmers of ...
to claim bronze in a time of 1 m 3.96 s.
Evans was just 0.04 s ahead of
Aleksandr Fyodorovsky, another swimmer from the host nation.
Reflecting on the race, Evans felt that his lack of experience compared with Goodhew was a factor in his loss. Evans felt that Goodhew had "psyched
imout".
Evans was less successful in the 200 m—not his preferred distance. He came fourth in his heat in a time of 2 m 26.62 s, which saw him eliminated with the 12th-fastest time, some three seconds slower than what was needed to make the final.
[Howell, p. 243.]
Relay victory
The 4 × 100 m medley relay was the focal point of Evans' Moscow campaign. The event had always been won by the United States since its inception at Olympic level
in 1960, and their boycott had opened up the field in the event. In the five times the event had been contested, Australia's best result was a silver in the
inaugural race. A
bronze in 1964 was the only other medal success, and the
1972 medley relay had seen Australia eliminated in the heats. This time, Australia was regarded as a medal chance, but were not seen as the main threats—Sweden, Great Britain and the Soviet Union were the most favoured teams to win. The hosts' team included the silver medallists in the
100 m backstroke and
breaststroke
Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
, and their butterflyer had
come fifth. Later, their freestyler
placed fourth. The British had Goodhew, the breaststroke gold medallist, while Sweden's butterflyer and backstroker had won their respective events and their freestyle swimmer would come second in the 100 m.
[Howell, p. 233.] On paper, Australia's team paled in comparison.
Neil Brooks
Neil Brooks (born 27 July 1962) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer best known for winning the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow as part of the '' Quietly Confident Quartet''. Brooks was as m ...
, the freestyler, would come 14th overall after an
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
attack,
and Evans was the only individual medallist in the corresponding individual event.
[Andrews, p. 148.] Mark Kerry
Mark Anthony Kerry (born 4 August 1959) is an Australian former backstroke and freestyle swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won three Olympic medals, including a gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics ...
had been eliminated in the backstroke semifinals, while Tonelli was swimming as a makeshift butterflyer.
[Howell, p. 234.] Adding to the pressure was the fact that Australia had won
no gold medals at the 1976 Olympics in any sport, and were yet to win one in Moscow, so the public were still awaiting their first victory since
Munich in 1972.
[Gordon, p. 333.] Coming into the Olympics, Australia were ranked seventh out of the 13 competing countries.
[Forrest, p. 212.]
Australia's prospects improved after the morning heats in which Sweden was disqualified. Evans took the opportunity to attempt to regain the psychological ascendancy from Goodhew, confronting him privately and stating that "we will win it". Evans felt that his posturing had shaken Goodhew.
Tonelli, the eldest swimmer in the quartet at the age of 23, convened the team as its ''de facto'' leader. He asked his teammates to commit to swimming their legs in a certain time; Kerry vowed to swim the backstroke in 57 s, Evans the breaststroke in 63 s flat, Tonelli the butterfly in 54 s and Brooks promised to anchor the team in 49.8 s, even though he had never gone faster than 51 s. Tonelli named the foursome as the Quietly Confident Quartet, and they exhibited a quiet confidence as they lined up for the race.
Kerry led off in a faster time than he had clocked in the individual event, but it was still two seconds slower than his personal best time of 57.87 s, leaving Australia in fourth place at the end of the first leg.
Evans then swam a personal best of 63.01 s to put Australia in second place, almost level with the host nation at the halfway mark.
Evans had out-split Goodhew by 0.8 s and Miskarov by 0.5 s.
Tonelli then swam his leg in 54.94 s, almost two seconds faster than he had ever done before.
Tonelli began to lose ground in the last 50 m and was a bodylength behind until a late surge brought him to within a metre of the lead by the end of his leg. Brooks then performed a powerful, well-timed dive and surfaced almost even with his Soviet counterpart. He had drawn level by the halfway mark and made a superior turn to take the lead. The Soviet freestyler pulled level at the 25 m mark before Brooks again sprinted away to seal an Australian victory by 0.22 s. Brooks had finished his leg in 49.86 s as he had vowed to his teammates.
[Andrews, p. 63.] The time of 3 m 45.70 s sealed Australia's first-ever win in a medley relay at the Olympics, for men or women.
The team then made a celebratory dive into the pool and were interviewed at the poolside.
Evans said that the relay "was unbelievable, but it was all so logical. I was so deliriously happy that I couldn't stop talking."
[Andrews, pp. 440–441.]
Upon returning to Australia, Evans and Brooks were raucously received in their hometown of Perth. They were denied a civic reception by the Lord Mayor of the
City of Perth
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, who supported an Olympic boycott over Afghanistan, but the Lord Mayor of
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
instead hosted a reception. Evans received congratulations from Prime Minister Fraser.
In 2000, Evans quipped that "We're the Vietnam vets of the Olympic movement".
In the same year, Evans and the other members of the quartet were each awarded the
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...
for their victory in Moscow.
US college career
A few weeks before the Olympics, Evans had signed a deal with the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, and he went there to study and swim after the Olympics. Evans was to spend five years in Arizona studying for a BA in business. He regarded his American experience as a crucial component of his development: "I got a good education, but above all I learned about myself".
The American ''
laissez faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. A ...
'' attitude—which revolved around the individual's self-determination—sat well with Evans' outlook on life. He often clashed with Arizona swimming coach
Dick Jochums, who was regarded as a hard taskmaster. The pair clashed over the training regime; Jochums insisted that Evans increase his mileage, something that the student strongly resisted.
Evans was an
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n for four years, but he struggled in the short-course pools used in the college system. Short-course pools—which are only half the length—place more emphasis on a swimmer's turning ability, which was the Australian's weakness. Despite his ranking as third in the world at the Olympics, which are swum in long-course pools, Evans was ranked only fifth in the college system.
The
Australian Swimming Union (ASU) did not recognise times that had been recorded in short-course pools in the United States, so Evans was forced to return for the Australian Championships to qualify for the
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...
held in Brisbane. Despite winning neither of the breaststroke events, Evans successfully
earned selection and lined up at the Commonwealth Games in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. In his favoured 100 m event, Evans won bronze, having been led home by
Adrian Moorhouse
Adrian David Moorhouse MBE (born 24 May 1964) is an English former competitive swimmer who dominated British swimming in the late 1980s. He won the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Since t ...
of England and Canada's
Victor Davis
Victor Nicolas Davis, CM (February 10, 1964 – November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the butterfly.
Biography
Victor Dav ...
. In the 200 m event, Evans came fourth, almost four seconds behind the victorious Davis.
He then combined with
David Orbell
David Rodney Orbell (born 27 February 1963) is an Australian former swimmer who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Orbell finished sixth in the final of the 200-metre backstroke, and first in the B Final (ninth overall) in th ...
,
Jon Sieben
Jonathan Scott Sieben, OAM (born 24 August 1966) is an Australian former butterfly swimmer of the 1980s, who won gold in the 200-metre butterfly at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles Olympics.
Hailing from Brisbane, Queensland, Sieben wa ...
and Brooks to win the medley relay in a Commonwealth Games record time. Canada reached the wall far ahead of Australia, but were disqualified for a premature changeover.
International farewell
After the games, Evans returned to the United States to continue his studies and collegiate swimming career. Before the 1984 Olympics, Evans travelled to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to train with Haller, who was coaching the British colony's swimming team. Evans revitalised himself under his favourite coach and returned to his old style of sprinting. He twisted his ankle later in Perth and missed some training time. He won the Australian 100 m breaststroke championship to qualify for the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in Los Angeles, and returned to Arizona to continue training. His Olympic campaign was placed in jeopardy when the ASU threatened to remove Evans from the team for skipping their training camp in Australia. The threat was withdrawn after Evans' father confronted the ASU and pointed out that his son was training, although in a different location. Before the Games, Evans joined the Australians for their final training camp at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in California. Evans arrived in Los Angeles with the same program as in Moscow; he entered both breaststroke events and the medley relay. Evans started brightly to win his heat of the
100 m breaststroke in an Olympic record time of 1 m 2.87 s.
His new mark did not last long—
John Moffet broke it in a later heat to relegate Evans to the second-fastest qualifying time.
Nevertheless, their opponents were able to lift and the final saw
Steve Lundquist
Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke ...
of the United States set a new world record of 1 m 1.65 s; Evans took bronze, 0.98 s behind silver medallist Davis. Evans was unable to maintain the pace that he had set in the heats, clocking a time 0.10 s slower.
In the
200 m, Evans came second in his heat but was not fast enough to make the final,
swimming 1.47 s slower than the slowest qualifier to finish 17th.
The final event for Evans was the
4 × 100 m medley relay. Evans was joined by Kerry, while
Glenn Buchanan
Glenn Robert Buchanan (born 19 November 1962) is an Australian former butterfly swimmer of the 1980s who won two bronze medals in the 100-metre butterfly and the 4x100-metre medley relay, at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Pitted agai ...
and
Mark Stockwell swum the butterfly and freestyle respectively. The Americans were overwhelming favourites, boasting the gold medallists in three of the respective individual events. The hosts easily won the gold by almost four seconds; Evans and the Australians were third, relegated from the silver medal by just 0.02 s by the Canadian team, having been in the bronze medal position at every change.
[Gordon, p. 356.] Evans recorded the second-fastest breaststroke split, slower than Lundquist, but quicker than the rest, including Davis.
After the Olympics, Evans returned to Arizona and resumed his studies. In 1985, he represented Australia at the
World University Games
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
in Kobe, Japan. The following year, he attempted to qualify for the
1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...
in Edinburgh after only ten days training. He made the qualifying time, but was omitted. Evans later stated that he felt his admission of having only trained for ten days had lowered his standing in the eyes of the selectors. As a result of being overlooked, Evans retired from competitive swimming.
Later life
In early 1986, Evans won preselection for the Liberal Party in the
electoral district of Perth
The Electoral district of Perth is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Perth is named for the capital city of Western Australia whose central business district falls within its borders. It is one of the oldest ...
. He contested the seat in the state election, but lost despite a four percent swing against the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
. Evans then travelled around the world studying international market systems, before working in fund management and international investment. He said of his swimming career: "It's not that serious. It's only a race. There's a lot more to be happy and proud for and proud of."
[Howell, p. 243.]
See also
*
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
50 metre backstroke
...
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Peter
1961 births
Living people
Australian male breaststroke swimmers
Olympic swimmers of Australia
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
Olympic gold medalists in swimming
Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Arizona Wildcats men's swimmers
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners
Universiade medalists in swimming
Swimmers from Perth, Western Australia
Liberal Party of Australia politicians
People educated at Scotch College, Perth
Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
Universiade bronze medalists for Australia
Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade