Janet Evans

Janet Evans dominated distance swimming across the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, winning four gold medals and holding the 400m freestyle world record for 17 years, from 1988 to 2005—30% longer than #5 Shane Gould's record reign of 4 years. Her unorthodox windmill freestyle stroke confounded coaches but produced the most efficient distance technique, with a 50% event win rate in Olympic competition across three different races. She lit the Olympic torch at the 1996 Atlanta Games beside Muhammad Ali, a honor that underscores her legacy as a longer-performing distance champion than #6 Kristin Otto's sprints. Her 800m freestyle gold in 1988 was set at a pace 2.5 seconds faster than the previous Olympic record.