Peter Evans is a swimmer who has competed for Australia. He competed at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
Evans arrived at his first Olympics in Moscow as one of the medal favorites in the breaststroke double (100 and 200). First, he claimed a bronze with a new Australian record in the 100 metres breaststroke final, holding off Aleksandr Fedorovski to a fourth spot by 0.04 of a second. The 200 metres breaststroke turned to be lackluster for Evans, as he was eliminated from the prelims with the twelfth-fastest time. Amid the absence of the American swimmers due to the boycott, the 4x100 metres medley relay became the most critical point of Evans' Olympic career. There, he recorded the fastest breaststroke split of the field at 1:03.01 to move the Australians marginally to the runner-up spot behind Soviet Union. When his teammate Neil Brooks sprinted away with a late surge to overcome the Soviets on the freestyle leg, the Australian team of Evans, Mark Kerry, and Mark Tonelli, dubbed as the Quietly Confident Quartet, secured their first gold medal in 3:45.70.
Four years later in Los Angeles, Evans started brightly to top the second heat of the 100 metres breaststroke with a new Olympic record until John Moffet lowered it by 0.7 of a second on the seventh and last heat. The final session witnessed Steve Lundquist establish a new world record for the gold, with Evans repeating his bronze from Moscow. In the 4x100 metres medley relay, Evans swam through the breaststroke leg with the second-fastest split (1:02.29) of the field, 0.43 seconds slower than Lundquist but 0.04 quicker than the rest. The American hosts comfortably reclaimed the gold from the 1980 boycott with a new world record, while Evans and his teammates Kerry, Glenn Buchanan, and Mark Stockwell finished third behind the Canadians by the narrowest margins.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Men's 100m breaststroke | 
|
| Men's 200m breaststroke | 12th | |
| Men's 4x100m medley relay | 
| |
| 1984 | Men's 100m breaststroke |
|
| Men's 200m breaststroke | 17th | |
| Men's 4x100m medley relay |
|
1980[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 100 metres breaststroke | Heats | 1:04.55 |
| Final | 1:03.96 | |
| 200 metres breaststroke | Heats | 2:26.62 |
| Final | Did not advance | |
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:48.94 (1:03.96 split) |
| Final | 3:45.70 (1:03.01 split) |
1984[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres breaststroke | Heats | 1:02.87 | AR |
| A Final | 1:02.97 | ||
| 200 metres breaststroke | Heats | 2:21.21 | |
| B Final | Withdrew | ||
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:43.93 (1:02.67 split) |
|
| Final | 3:43.25 (1:02.29 split) |
AR | |