Peter Evans (swimmer)
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Peter Evans (born August 1, 1961) was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1980s, who won four medals in Olympics competition, most notably a gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as part of the Quietly Confident Quartet. He won two consecutive bronze medals in the 100 m breaststroke at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.
The son of prominent Western Australian businessman and politician Max Evans, Evans had a slow start to his swimming career, not making his debut at the Australian championships until he was 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, funded by his father. During this period, he quickly improved his times and rose from outside the top 200 into the top 25 in the world. Evans returned to Australia in 1980 and qualified in both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. A sprinter, he won the 100 m in an Australian record and showed a preference for shorter events, which required less training mileage. Evans gained a reputation for often doing less training laps than his coach asked of him.[1][2] Having rebuffed political pressure to boycott the Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Evans won bronze in the 100 m breaststroke. His career peak came in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, when he outsplit his breaststroke opponents in his leg of the relay, bringing Australia into contention for its eventual win, the only time that the United States did not win the event.
Evans moved to the United States after the Olympics and competed while studying business at the University of Arizona. He had less success 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 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, again winning bronze in the 100 m breaststroke and this time coming third in the medley relay. Evans retired after missing selection for the 1986 Commonwealth Games and attempted to follow his father into politics, standing as the candidate for the Liberal Party of Australia in the electoral district of Perth. Evans lost the election and went on to a career in business.
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[edit] Early years
The second of four children, Evans was born into a wealthy family in Perth, Western Australia. His father Max was a chartered accountant who went on to become a politician for the Liberal Party of Australia for the state Electoral district of Perth.[1] Max was President of the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was a senior partner in the accounting firm founded by Sir Charles Court, then premier of Western Australia,[1] who was credited with modernising the state and expanding and reforming its lucrative mining industry.[3] Max was also an honorary member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and had sporting pedigree. Max was a State champion athletics sprinter at youth level and won a gold, a silver and three bronze medals in Western Australian relay athletic teams at the Australian Championships. His son was also endowed with sporting genes from his maternal lineage. His mother Barbara, a physiotherapist, was awarded a half-blue in netball while at the University of Western Australia and was a capable swimmer.[1]
Evans was educated for his entire schooling at the exclusive Scotch College in Perth. Evans was initially self-taught in swimming, 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".[1] Evans later trained and swam for the school swimming team in summer and also represented his school in field hockey. Although Evans enjoyed success at all four strokes at school level, he 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."[1] Thereafter, he was undefeated in school competition in breaststroke. Evans learned the "whip kick" from Ian Dickson, the brother of Olympic swimming medallist David Dickson. Evans later honed his endurance skill under Kevin Duff and his sprinting ability under Bernie Mulroy.[1]
[edit] National debut
In November 1978 during Evans' final year at school, he broke the Western Australian 100 m breaststroke record. He and his father decided that he should step up his swimming career and Evans entered the 1979 Australian Championships in Perth. Despite only having four weeks of solid training leading up to the meet, Evans came second to Lindsay Spencer. Despite this, Evans was omitted from the Australian squad's tour to Britain as he was an unknown swimmer. After the meet, Evans vowed that he wanted to become an elite swimmer and compete in the Olympics.[1] A week later, Evans left Australian shores to travel to England, funded by his father. He was to train at Crystal Palace in London under David Haller, coach of Olympic breaststroke gold medallist Duncan Goodhew.[2] Evans explained his decision by saying that "there was nothing in Australia for breaststroke swimmers".[1] During the three months of training in London, Evans rose up the breaststroke rankings from outside the top two hundred into the top 25. He flew back to Australia to qualify for a place in national team for the FINA Cup in Japan, before returning to London for more training.[1]
Evans returned to Australia in 1980 to compete in the Olympic trials. His absence in the United Kingdom meant that he was a virtual unknown. He broke the Australian record in winning the Australian Championships in a time of 1 m 4.80 s in the 100 m breaststroke and also qualified for his less preferred 200 m event. While at the Olympic national training camp in Brisbane, the Australian coaches tried to get Evans to cover more mileage during training. Evans' teammates recalled him once stopping during a pool session and emphatically proclaiming that "Work is a poor substitute for talent."[1] Evans was confident in his own training methods and refused to bend to the coaches' way of thinking.[1]
[edit] 1980 Moscow Olympics
- See also: Swimming at the 1980 Summer 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 was also the patron of the Australian Olympic Committee, and significant political pressure came to bear on the athletes to boycott the Games. Evans' relay team-mate Mark 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.[4][5] Evans was fully supportive of Tonelli's campaign, reflecting that "We were political tools, and the only ones to suffer would be us."[1] 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?"[2]
Having arrived in Moscow, Evans' first event was the 100 m breaststroke, with the Soviet swimmers regarded as the favoured swimmers in the event. Evans' former flat-mate Duncan Goodhew from Great Britain, who had also trained under Haller at Crystal Palace was another swimmer who was tipped to win. Evans was equal first in his heat and advanced to the final along with Goodhew, the Soviets and fellow Australian Spencer. In a hard-fought final, Goodhew won the gold medal, and Evans narrowly missed out on the silver medal, finishing 0.14 s behind the Soviet Union's Arsen Miskarov to claim bronze in a time of 1 m 3.96 s.[2][6] Reflecting on the race, Evans felt that his relative youth compared to Goodhew was a factor in his loss. Evans felt that he had been "psyched out" be Goodhew.[2] Evans had a less successful time in the 200 m, his less-preferred distance. He finished in a time of 2 m 26.62 s in coming fourth in his heat, which saw him eliminated.[7]
[edit] 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 the Olympics at the 1960 Games, and their boycott had opened up the field in the event. In the five times the event had been contested, Australia's best result had come in the inaugural race, where it out-touched Japan to claim silver. The only other time that it won a medal was in 1964, with a bronze. The previous outing in 1976 had seen Australia eliminated in the heats. Australia was regarded as a chance of a medal, but were not seen as the main threats, with Sweden, Great Britain and the Soviet Union being the most heavily fancied teams. The Soviet Union boasted the silver medallists in the 100 m backstroke and breaststroke, and their butterflyer and freestyler had come fifth and fourth respectively. The British boasted Goodhew, the breaststroke gold medallist, while Sweden's butterflyer and backstroker had won their respective events and their freestyle swimmer had come second in the 100 m.[8] Australia's team paled in comparison on paper. Neil Brooks, the freestyler, had come seventh after having an asthma attack,[9] and Evans was the only individual medallist in the corresponding individual event.[6] Mark Kerry had been eliminated in the backstroke semifinals, while Mark Tonelli was swimming as a makeshift butterflyer.[10][5] Adding to the pressure was the fact that Australia won no gold medals at the 1976 Olympics in any sport, so the public were still awaiting their first gold since the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.[11]
Australia's prospects improved after the morning heats when Sweden was disqualified. Evans brashly 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.[2] Tonelli, the eldest swimmer in the quartet at the age of 23, convened the team as its de facto leader. He asked his team-mates 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 in his career. Tonelli named the foursome as the Quietly Confident Quartet, and they exhibited a quiet confidence as they lined up for the race.[10][5]
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.[10] Evans then swam a personal best of 63.01 s, leaving Australia almost level with the host nation at the halfway mark.[10] Evans had out-split Goodhew by 0.8 s and Miskarov by 0.5 s.[2] Tonelli then swam his leg in 54.94 s, almost two seconds faster than he had done over the distance,[10]. 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 by the end of his leg. Brooks then made a powerful, well-timed dive and surfaced almost even with his Soviet counterpart. At the turn, he had drawn level and made a superior turn to take the lead. The Soviet freestyler pulled level at the 25 m mark before Brooks sprinted away again to seal an Australian victory by 0.22 s. Brooks had finished his leg in 49.86 s as he had vowed to his team mates.[9] 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.[10] The team then made a celebratory dive into the pool and did a poolside interview.[2] Evans said of the relay that "It was unbelievable, but it was all so logical. I was so deliriously happy that I couldn't stop talking."[2][12][5]
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 because of his stance on Afghanistan, but the Lord Mayor of Fremantle hosted one instead. Evans also received congratulations from Prime Minister Fraser.[2]
[edit] US college career
A few weeks after the Olympics, Evans signed a deal with the University of Arizona and went there to study and compete in the collegiate system. Evans was to spend five years in Arizona studying for a BA in Business. He regarded the American experience as a crucial component of his development, stating "I got a good education, but above all I learned about myself."[2] The American laissez faire attitude which revolved around the individual's self-determination sat well with Evans' outlook on life. Evans had an unusual working relationship with the Arizona swimming coach Dick Jochums, a tall man who was regarded as a hard taskmaster. The pair clashed over his training regime; Jochums insisted that Evans increase his training mileage, something that Evans adamantly refused to do.[2] Evans was an All-American for four years in the collegiate system, but he struggled in the short-course pools used in the college system, which placed more emphasis on a swimmer's turning ability, which was Evans' weakness. Despite being ranked third in the world at the Olympics in the short-course format, Evans was ranked only fifth in the college system.[2]
The Australian Swimming Union did not recognise the times that Evans had recorded in short course pools in the United States, so Evans was forced to travel back home to qualify at the Australian Championships for the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane. Having successfully earned selection, Evans lined up for Australia 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, being led home by fellow college swimmer Adrian Moorhouse of England and Canada's Victor Davis. In the 200 m event, Evans came fourth, almost four seconds outside the time of Davis.[2][7] He then combined with David Orbell, Jon Sieben and Brooks to win the medley relay in a Commonwealth Games record time. Canada had won the race easily but were disqualified for making a premature changeover.[2][6]
[edit] International farewell
Evans returned to the United States to continue his studies and collegiate swimming career. Before the 1984 Olympics, Evans travelled to Hong Kong at his own expense for a training period with Haller, who was serving as the coach of the British colony's swimming team. Evans revitalised himself under his favourite coach and returned to his old style of swimming. However, he twisted his ankle later in Perth and missed some training time. He again won the Australian 100 m breaststroke championship to qualify for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and returned to Arizona to continue training. His Olympic campaign was then placed in jeopardy when the ASU threatened to fire Evans from the Olympic team for not attending their national training camp in Australia. The threat was withdrawn after Evans' father confronted the ASU and pointed out that his son was training, just simply in a different location. Before the Games, Evans joined the Australians for their final training camp at Stanford University in California. Evans arrived in Los Angeles with the same program as in Moscow; he was entered in 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. Nevertheless, his opponents were able to lift and the final saw Steve Lundquist of the United States set a new world record of 1 m 1.65 s, with Evans taking bronze behind Davis. In the 200 m, Evans came second in his heat but was not fast enough to make the final.[7] The final event for Evans was the 4 × 100 m medley relay. Evans was joined by Kerry and Glenn Buchanan and Mark Stockwell swimming butterfly and freestyle respectively. The United States were overwhelming favourites, boasting the gold medallists in three of the respective individual events. The hosts went on to easily win the gold medal, and Evans and the Australians were third, relegated from the silver medal by just 0.02 s by the Canadian team.[7][13][6]
After the Olympics, Evans returned to Arizona and continued his studies. He represented Australia at the World University Games in Kobe, Japan in 1985. The following year, he attempted to qualify for the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh after only ten days training, and made the qualifying time, but was omitted. Evans later stated that he felt that his admission that he had only trained for ten days had lowered his standing in the eyes of the selectors. As a result of the omission, Evans retired from competitive swimming.[7]
[edit] Later life
In early 1986, Evans won preselection from the Liberal Party for the Electoral district of Perth. He ran in the state election but was unable to gain election despite a four percent swing against the Australian Labor Party. Evans then travelled around the world studying international market systems. He went on to work 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."[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Howell, p. 241.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Howell, p. 242.
- ^ Mayes, Andrea. "Sir Charles Court dead at 96", news.com.au, 2007-12-23. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
- ^ Howell, p. 249.
- ^ a b c d Gordon, p. 334.
- ^ a b c d Andrews, p. 148.
- ^ a b c d e f Howell, p. 243.
- ^ Howell, p. 233.
- ^ a b Andrews, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f Howell, p. 234.
- ^ Gordon, p. 333.
- ^ Andrews, pp. 440–441.
- ^ Gordon, p. 356.
[edit] References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 0-7333-0884-8.
- Gordon, Harry (1994). Australia and the Olympic Games. University of Queensland. ISBN 0-7022-2627-0.
- Howell, Max (1986). Aussie Gold. Brooks Waterloo. ISBN 0-86440-680-0.
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