Evans pleased with comeback despite missing final

By Julian Linden

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - There was a touch of nostalgia at the U.S. Olympic trials on Tuesday when Janet Evans, once the darling of American swimming, made her comeback.

The crowd roared in anticipation when the 40-year-old mother stepped on the blocks for the heat of the women's 400 meters freestyle, an event she won at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and for which she held the world record for almost two decades.

Looking as fit and lean as ever, it was almost like old times when the gun went off and the diminutive Evans plunged into the water and set off down the pool with her distinctive windmill stroke.

But her new times are not like her old and she was unable to keep up with her younger opponents, most of whom were less than half her age.

"They were closer to my kid's age than my age," she said.

Evans finished seventh in her heat and 80th overall from 113 swimmers, stopping the clock in a time of four minutes 21.49 seconds, almost 18 seconds outside her best.

"I wish I'd gone faster," Evans said. "It's not what I wanted but it is what it is. I couldn't get going but it was still a lot of fun."

Evans was once the undisputed queen of middle distance swimming.