City to Name Park Pool After Janet Evans

FULLERTON —  The pool at Independence Park will be named in honor of its most famous swimmer, Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans, after all.

In a 4-to-0 decision that overturned a recent Community Services Commission vote, the City Council on Tuesday named the pool after Evans.

The commission voted 4 to 2 against that idea two months ago because Evans still is living. Commissioners said the city could regret naming the pool in her honor if she did something in the future to discredit her name.

Evans’ fans, members of the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team, said that the chances of such a scenario are slim, and that she deserves to have the pool bear her name. They appealed the commission’s decision to the City Council.

“Janet Evans gives each one of us a little bit of hope in our lives to dream our dreams,” said 16-year-old swimmer Lauren Preston.

Commissioner Bahia E. Wilson, who had voted in favor of the idea, said Tuesday before the appeal was heard that the “highlight of the 1996 Olympics, to me, was when the greatest swimmer, Janet Evans, handed the torch to the greatest boxer, Muhammad Ali.”

Robert Bergstrom, a longtime member of the aquatics sports team who initiated the proposal, said Evans is a role model.

Bergstrom presented the council with 10 reasons why the pool should bear Evans’ name. Among them: The team would pay for the sign and a display case that would exhibit pictures of Evans and tell her story.

Evans, 25, joined the team when she was 9 and trained in the 50-meter pool for eight years. The swimming champion represented the United States in three consecutive Olympic Games, broke three world records and won four gold medals. She was the 1996 Olympic team captain and a torch bearer for the Atlanta games.

“I’m honored,” Evans said about the council’s action. “I swam a lot of laps in that pool, and I hope that it will inspire other kids to be the best that they could be.”