The Tribune

While she continues to train at her alma mater at the University of Texas, Bahamian multiple national record holder Joanna Evans is preparing to get back into the pool when she competes in the 2020 US Open Swimming Championships.

USA Swimming announced in September that as a part of the reimagined calendar amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the US Open would be held at nine different sites around the country from November 12-15.

The US Open has replaced the former Winter Nationals as the mid-season championship meet in the United States.

It coincides with the International Swimming League competition that is currently underway in Budapest, Hungary, where the majority of the top swimmers from around the world, including the United States, are competing.

As she is based in Austin, Texas, Evans will report to the North East ISD Blossom Athletic Complex in San Antonio where she will contest the women’s 200 and 400 metres freestyle races on the same day.

On Friday, November 13, the 400m free is scheduled for the morning session beginning at 10am, while the 200m free is set for the evening, starting at 6pm.

“We’ve just been doing the basic training as we plan for next summer,” the 23-year-old Evans told The Tribune.

“I’ve been training here with the college team preparing for next year, so it’s been going pretty good.

“We had to take a break when COVID-19 hit, but we are now getting back into the full swing of things. I can’t complain. We are just following the COVID-19 protocols at practice and we all get tested at least once a week so they are doing all they can to mitigate this thing as best as they can.”

With all of the protocols in place, Evans said her time was limited to the use of the pool facilities at the University of Texas, but they are getting back to the normal hours during a full week.

“Most days I just train in the morning, I then lift weights and take a break to refuel for the day,” she pointed out. “Then I go back to practice in the afternoon. Not being in school allows me to fully recover, so that’s exciting.”

With the US Open on her agenda, Evans said she just wants to test the waters to see exactly where she’s at in her training.

“It’s been quite a while since I raced, so it would be a good way for me to see where I’m at as I prepare for next year,” she stated. “At this point, it’s been a long time since I raced, so it’s going to be good to just go out there and get a benchmark.”

As it pertains to next year, Evans said all roads will lead to Tokyo, Japan, if the postponed 2020 Olympic Games is a reality. If it does, it will be the Grand Bahamian native’s second appearance at the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.

In her debut as a part of a three-member team that represented the Bahamas in swimming at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Evans didn’t advance out of the heats of the 200m freestyle, but she made it to the semifinals in both the 400m and 800m freestyle events.

With the experience she gained from those games and her participation with the Longhorns as a member of the University of Texas’ swim team, Evans feels she has all of the ingredients to surpass her past achievements.

“Due to COVID-19 at the moment, I don’t know what will happen next year, but I am looking forward to whatever comes my way in terms of meets leading up to the Olympics,” she projected. “Things are changing daily, so it’s hard to tell what will happen.”

The 5-foot, 11-inch graduate of Bishop Michael Eldon High School in Grand Bahama completed her eligibility for the Longhorns in 2019. She earned a degree in sustainability studies and has racked up an impressive résumé as a swimmer.

In addition to representing the Bahamas at the Olympics, she also won three gold medals at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in the 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle. She also captured a silver medal in the 400m and bronze in the 800m freestyle at the 2017 World University Games.

She is a three-time All-American, two-time honourable mention All-American, University of Texas’ record holder in the 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle (15:51.74); 20-18, 18-19 CSCAA Scholar All-American, 2019 Big 12 Conference Swimmer of the Meet, 2016 Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year, 2016 Big 12 Championships’ Women’s Newcomer of the Meet, 2017 Academic All-Big 12 (first team) and 11-time Big 12 champion.

Evans, the national flag carrier during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia in April (where she fell short of getting on the podium with a fourth place finish in her speciality in the 400m free in 4:08.82 and was 12th overall in the 200m free in (2:01.75), lowered three national records three months later at the CAC Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, with her time of 1:58.03 in the 200m freestyle on July 21, 2:17.45 in the 200m individual medley on July 24 and 4:50.38 in the 400m IM on July 23.

Her other marks came in the 400m freestyle in 4:07.60 at the Rio Olympics on August 7, 2016, the 800m to 8:31.18 at the Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan on August 25, 2017 and the 1,500m at the Family Guardian Invitational on November 2, 2013 at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex in Nassau.

“I’m just looking forward to the competition and competing again,” Evans summed up. “It’s been a while since I competed, so it would be good to see what times I can produce now in the COVID-19 environment.”

No doubt, both races in the 200 and 400m next weekend will be fast.