The first time Janet Evans watched her good friend Katie Ledecky swim away with the Olympic 1,500 meter race, she cried her eyes out like a broken-hearted teenager whose first love had run off with someone else.

This was back in 2021, the first time women got to swim “the mile,” as Evans and every American swimming nerd calls it, at the Olympics.

Evans, a gold medalist in the 400 and 800 in 1988 and the 800 in 1992, was Ledecky before Ledecky, so much better at distance races than everyone else it was a joke. On that night in 2021, she watched Ledecky race at the spectator-free Tokyo Games alone at her home in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Why the tears?

For decades, she and every other world-class female distance swimmer had gotten blown off when they pushed to swim the longest race in the pool, just like the men could. Always, there was another excuse. No room in the program. Not enough beds for additional athletes.

They heard something else — a barely veiled message that most women couldn’t race that far within a time worth watching, even though they did it in college, at other international meets and all the time in practice.

There is little doubt that Evans would have won two or three more gold medals had the 1,500 been a part of the Olympic program when she was at her peak, or even after it at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where she handed the torch to Muhammad Ali before he lit the flame during the opening ceremony, a signature moment of the modern Olympics.

“The mile was my best race,” Evans, 52, said Wednesday night at a bar outside La Defense Arena, where she had just watched Ledecky demolish the field to win her second consecutive 1,500 gold in 15:30.02, breaking her Olympic record and finishing 10 seconds and nearly half-a-pool faster than Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, the silver medalist.

“I had that world record for like 20 years,” Evans said.

Evans didn’t cry this time as she watched Ledecky from a few rows up from the deck of the Olympic pool. Her 17-year-old daughter, Sydney Willson — she’s a distance specialist, too, a rising high school senior already committed to Princeton for 2025 — sat beside her, capturing her mother’s ear-to-ear smile and arm-pumping as they watched Ledecky tear through the final lap.

Evans looked up at the scoreboard when it was done and did some quick swimming math. Her best time in the 1,500 was 15:50.

“I would have gotten fifth tonight,” she said at the bar, a little more than 36 years after that world record.

Once a swim racer, always a swim racer.

Janet Evans swims at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She almost certainly would’ve added to her gold-medal haul if a 1,500-meter race had been offered for women in her time. (Dennis Paquin / AP)

Evans is in Paris for a couple reasons.

Reason No. 1: She’s a self-confessed swim freak and an Olympic addict.

This is her 18th Olympics, including the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, which she attended as a fan. She is a true believer. Her daughter chimed in that her mother teared up during the opening ceremony Friday night, as the boats headed up the Seine.

Reason No. 2. She’s working.

Evans, who served on the athletes commission for World Aquatics for 14 years, from 1992 to 2006, chairing the body at one point, is one of the leaders of LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

She is the chief athlete officer, essentially responsible for every inch of the athlete experience in Los Angeles, from the moment they land at the Games, to what they eat, where they sleep, and how they get to and from the competitions.

And making sure women get treated the same as men.

“I’m here to observe, to take it in, to see what we want to do similarly, what we want to do different, what we can do better,” she said.

Her early impressions of Paris? “The backdrops are spectacular, the arenas are great, and the stands are full,” she said.

That last past may be the most important one, because it has been 12 years since there were packed houses at the Games. Tickets cost too much for the vast majority of Brazilians and stadiums were mostly half full at best in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Then came Tokyo. Covid. Enough said.

Evans said she wants to withhold judgment on what can be improved until after the Games are over and she can check in with athletes to figure out what could be done better. She noticed that the American track star, Noah Lyles, said he was having some trouble finding a safe and quiet space in the Olympic Village. She made a note of that.

The athletes will live on the campus of UCLA in 2028. Some peace and quiet seems doable there.

As a child of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that encouraged federal funding for girls and women to play sports in the U.S., Evans is chuffed that at the Paris Games there are finally an equal number of male and female athletes competing.

She’d been a part of the supposed “Games of the Woman” in 1996, when the U.S. women’s soccer team and other female stars broke through. But there was still a long way to go, and there still is.

Recently, her 14-year-old son asked her why women play shorter tennis matches at the Grand Slam tournament than men do. She liked hearing that plenty of boys today think inequity in sports is just plain odd.

As she spoke, her eyes kept drifting up to the television in the bar. Léon Marchand, the French swimming sensation, was ripping through the water for his second individual gold medal of the night. Everyone in France is obsessed with him. Inside the arena, the roars of the crowd and choruses of the national anthem left ears ringing.

An ocean away in the United States, Marchand is still relatively unknown. He trains in Austin, Texas, she noted. The Los Angeles star-making machine will get churning on him soon. “What we’re trying to do is hard and we need athletes to help,” she said.

Katie Ledecky and Janet Evans have known each other since 2012, when they both competed at U.S. Olympic trials — Ledecky at 15, Evans at 40. (Ian MacNicol / Getty Images)

At the top of that list is her friend Ledecky, who at 27 has already said she wants to swim in Los Angeles, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to compete in a home Games.

And why not?

She went wire-to-wire in winning the 1,500 Wednesday, building her lead methodically, about a half body length for every lap of the pool, seemingly cruising through her 41-stroke lap with such ease. She barely kicks, takes in a breath every other stroke, like a weekend warrior out for a workout at the local YMCA. She turned it on during the final lap, blasting a little harder. She slapped the water after she touched the wall, ripped off one of her caps and let out a roar.

Later, she said the win was for all the women who never got to swim in this race.

Women like Evans, who helped land Ledecky a spot on the board of LA28. They have known each other since 2012, when Evans, then 40 and already a mother of two, decided to see if she could qualify for the Olympic trials. She did, and raced in the same events as a 15-year-old Ledecky.

Soon after, they became texting buddies. Ledecky is something of a mentor to her daughter, the three of them a little tribe of distance specialists who understand one another like no one else does.

Evans’ eyes drifted up again to the party unfolding inside La Defense, where more than 20,000 fans had packed into a rugby stadium to watch swimming, and spilling out onto the plaza. At the Los Angeles Games, swimming will take place at SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers in nearby Inglewood, Calif.

Plans are to have room for 38,000, the largest crowd ever to watch Olympic swimming, but there’s a chance that could grow given the expected demand for tickets in the heart of America’s swim culture.

“Should be pretty great,” Evans said, a little hint of FOMO sneaking into her voice.

Seems like there is a decent chance of that, especially if Ledecky dominates “the mile” once more.

Evans will be there, of course, a true circle of life moment, from fan to star to organizer.

And she’ll no doubt be doing some quick swimming math when the race is finished.

GO DEEPER

Léon Marchand, Katie Ledecky and a night worthy of Olympic swimming lore

(Top photo of Katie Ledecky with her 1,500-meter freestyle gold medal: Ian MacNicol / Getty Images)

Blake Snell had never completed eight innings before Friday night – of course, his first complete game came in style.

The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Snell had 11 strikeouts and three walks in his historic outing – Elly De La Cruz lined out to right field to preserve the no-no.

Snell has had quite a turnaround of late, which is surprising to say for a reigning Cy Young Award winner. However, the lefty was pitching to a 9.51 ERA in his first five starts. 

But, in his last five, he’s recorded just two earned runs (both of them in one start against the Los Angeles Dodgers) in 33 innings – that adds up to a 0.45 ERA.

Snell signed late in the offseason, causing his start of the season to be delayed – after just two starts, he landed on the injured list. But he sure seems to have found his old ways.

Prior to Friday, Snell’s career-high was 7.2 innings pitched – in fact, he had recorded at least one out in the seventh inning just four times ever.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park.  (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

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It’s the third no-hitter in the major leagues this season, joining Ronel Blanco back in April and Dylan Cease last week. It’s also the 18th in Giants history.

It took Snell 114 pitches to accomplish the feat, tied for the second-most of his career (117 is his most).

Snell’s deal with the San Francisco Giants is just two years for $62 million – however, he can opt out after this season. If he keeps pitching like this, he may want to do that.

The deal is rather low for a two-time Cy Young Award winner (he pitched to an MLB-low 2.25 ERA last year), but his inability to go deep into games, plus somewhat sporadic results outside his 2018 and 2013 seasons, and his age, all played roles.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

But, Snell is MLB’s all-time leader in K/9 with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, and he’s trying to prove that those two Cy Young Awards are no fluke.

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The Lakers’ latest Kobe Bryant statue honors his close bond with daughter and his passion for being a “Girl Dad.”

The new statue re-creates a moment from Dec. 29, 2019, when the father and daughter sat courtside to watch a Lakers home game against the Dallas Mavericks. Kobe was wearing an Eagles ski cap Gianna gave him for Christmas and wore an orange WNBA sweatshirt. The duo were captured in photos discussing the action unfolding on the court.

Kobe and Gianna Bryant were among the nine people who died in a Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash in Calabasas.

The second of three statues honoring Kobe Bryant sits near the Crypto.com Arena‘s 11th Street entrance and salutes his enthusiastic transition after retirement into coaching his daughter’s youth basketball team.

The new statue features Kobe, with his arm around Gianna, kissing his daughter on the head while wearing the same clothes they did during the 2019 Lakers game. Angel wings sit behind them and they are surrounded by a bed of purple and yellow flowers and symmetrical benches reflecting an Italianate garden, a nod to Kobe’s childhood in Italy.

There is a plaque that features the quote: “Gianna is a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.” It is attributed to “Kobe Bryant, Most Valuable Girl Dad.” The top of the plaque features the Mambacita logo and a description of the duo that reads: “Gianna Bryant, inspirational icon for girls in sports” and “Kobe Bryant, proud supporter of women in sports.”

A plaque in front of a statue featuring Kobe and Gianna Bryant honors his commitment to being a “Girl Dad” and women in sports.

(Courtesy of the Lakers)

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During a private ceremony, Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, shared why her family emphasized supporting women’s sports.

“We were faced with the harsh reality that no matter how great Gianna was or could be, no matter how great her daddy taught her how to play, or even if she played exactly like Kobe, she would not have had the same benefits and opportunities that her dad and young men currently have because she’s a girl,” Vanessa said, according to a Lakers news release. “That’s when the challenge to change the perception of women’s sports started in our household.”

Gianna would have been entering her freshman year in college next month. Her career was cut short, but her mother hopes that fans will honor the legacy of Kobe and Gianna.

“I ask you this: give young girls your time,” Vanessa Bryant said. “Give them your support. Tell them they can do anything any man can do and tell them they can exceed that, because they can, they have and they will. Iron sharpens iron. Reassure that confidence and see how much they thrive.

“Sometimes, all we need is one person to believe in us, even if that one person is ourselves. Take girls to watch women play sports. Buy those tickets to the game if you can. Watch women’s games on TV with your daughters, nieces and cousins. If young girls can see professional women play, they know they have the potential to be them. They know those ambitions aren’t just dreams but will become a reality. Let’s build up the next generation of athletes. It’s what Gigi and Kobe would want us to do.”

The statue was originally designed by Karon Davis and created by the artists of Rotblatt Amrany Studio. The date of the new statue reveal — 8/2/24 — was significant because it involves the No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers Bryant wore with the Lakers as well as the No. 2 jersey number Gianna wore as a player for Bryant’s Mamba Academy.

Fans can begin visiting the statue starting Saturday at 9 a.m. PDT.

The first Kobe Bryant statue at Crypto.com Arena was unveiled on a similarly significant date in February (2/8/24). The 19-foot, 4,000-pound bronze memorial depicts Bryant in his No. 8 jersey. He is pointing toward the sky in a re-creation of an image from his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

The third planned statue, which will be unveiled at a later date, will show Bryant in his No. 24 jersey, which he wore in the final 10 years of his 20-year career with the Lakers.

Time staff members Chuck Schilken and Dan Woike contributed to this report.