SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Rewind: 20-Year Splashback – January 1987

By Jason Marsteller

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 14. THIS weekend, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Rewind turns back time 20 years in its latest Splashback feature. Today, we check out the January 1987 issue of Swimming World Magazine to see what then-Publisher Dick Deal and editor Bob Ingram cooked up for our readers.

January 1987 Table of Contents
FEATURES:
A Coming Out Party by Russ Ewald
Randy Reese's Gators dominated U.S. Open II only to be upstaged by maturing Janet Evans – 29
A Perfect Season by Mark Muckenfuss
Stanford won its second straight NCAA title after an undefeated season – 37
Stanford's Triple Threat by Mark Muckenfuss
With Morales, Murphy and Kostoff making up the core of the Cardinal team, Stanford is looking for a third-straight NCAA title – 41
Four for Texas by Russ Ewald
The Longhorns have enough, depth to steer their way to a fourth women's NCAA Division I title in a row – 47
1986 World, U.S. Top 25 Times – 63

DEPARTMENTS:
Perspective – 5
U.S. Swimming – 8
Age Group Swimmers – 10
Newswave – 12
The AquaZoids – 17
Editorial Side – 18
Nutrition – 25
Physiology – 27
Long Distance Swimming – 56
NISCA News – 58
For the Record – 59
Classified – 76
Calendar -77
Index to Advertisers – 80

COVER:
Janet Evans, who just turned 15, claims she's five feet, three inches tall and 90 pounds. But she doesn't appear much over five feet even. No matter, she's a giant in the water, turning over as much as 55 strokes a lap. At the U.S. Open last month, the high school sophomore from Fullerton won a meet-high three events and received the Phillips Performance Award for her 4:45.83 400 IM. For more on the Open, see page 29. (Photo by Tim Morse)

Here is an excerpt of the item on the U.S. Open written by Russ Ewald that starts on page 29:

ORLANDO, Fla.–With one lap to go in the 400 meter freestyle on the opening night of the second annual U.S. Swimming Open, Dec. 5-7, Tami Bruce was in the lead by half of a body length. The tapered-and-shaved University of Florida sophomore looked in command. Her expected main competitor, the GDR's Astrid Strauss, who had dominated this international meet in the past, trailed by more than three seconds.

But midway in that final lap in lane four next to Bruce, a tiny body was gaining on the defending NCAA champion with her arms flailing in and out of the water at a tremendous stroke turnover, looking like a windmill in a hurricane.

Swimming meet regulars knew it could only be little 15-year-old Janet Evans of Fullerton Aquatics, not much over five-feet even and under 100 pounds who compensates for her small stature by stroking at a furious pace.

Somehow, Evans caught Bruce just before the wall and then out-touched her for a 4:11.06 win, to the amazement of the Justus Aquatic Center spectators. Her time was a four-second drop and eighth-fastest in the world for 1986.

"I knew she could come back and be there," said Bruce. "I just didn't think she would win it. I thought I had enough power. It's not that I didn't, she was just stronger."

On her final 50, which she covered in 31.12, Evans said, "I thought if I put my head down, I could do it.".

For the complete Swimming World Magazine article on the 1986 U.S. Open, click here.

Premium online subscribers can view the entire January 1987 edition of the magazine, as well as any other edition of the magazine back to 1960. To order a premium subscription, please click here.

Janet Evans at the 1986 U.S. Open.

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