Texas rising sophomore Joanna Evans won the 800-meter freestyle and eclipsed the FINA Olympic qualifying standard to earn a spot on the Bahamian Olympic team Thursday evening at the 2016 Bahamian National Championships.
Evans won the 800m freestyle in 8 minutes, 32.19 seconds, well under the FINA “A” standard of 8:33.97 for Olympic team qualification. The 2016 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Evans needed to earn an Olympic qualifying time at the Bahamian National Championships or the upcoming Caribbean Island Swimming Championships to represent The Bahamas at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Evans is the 42nd Longhorns women’s swimmer or diver to make an Olympic team and the first from the program to represent The Bahamas. She produced the top individual finish by a Big 12 newcomer or freshman at the 2016 NCAA Championships with her 17th-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (4:40.65).
Evans also posted league-best finishes in the 1,650 freestyle (19th) and the 200 freestyle (34th) at the NCAA Championships.
The Big 12 Conference selected Evans as the 2016 Big 12 Championships Women’s Newcomer of the Meet after she won league titles in the 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle.
