Evans Might Return to Stanford Next Winter : Swimming: Olympic medalist from Placentia also says she might return to sport after a two- to three-month break.

MISSION VIEJO — Sixteen months ago, Olympic triple gold medalist Janet Evans left Stanford and NCAA swimming to move to Austin, Tex., to train and study at the University of Texas.

Now, Evans, a gold and silver medalist at the Barcelona Games, is considering a return to Stanford.

“I’m weighing my options,” Evans said Monday at a U.S. Swimming press conference in Mission Viejo. “I love Stanford and it’s a great place to get a degree.”

Evans, who is two years from completing requirements for a degree in communications, said she will return to school, either at Texas or Stanford, next winter.

She is also considering a return to competitive swimming after a two- to three-month break.

“I just love it too much,” Evans said. “I’ll have a little break here and see how life is. Don’t count me out.”

If Evans does return to swimming and enrolls at Stanford, she will have to find a coach and a place to train.

She will not train with Stanford Coach Richard Quick. Differences with Quick over training philosophy led to her departure from the school.

Even if she returned to Texas, Evans would be changing coaches. Mark Schubert, her coach of the past 16 months, is the new men’s coach at USC.

While holding off on scholastic and swimming plans, Evans will be based at her parents’ home in Placentia while making appearances and fulfilling demands of her sponsorship contracts.

She still has no regrets about passing up a potential $1 million in endorsement opportunities after the ’88 Olympics and is pleasantly surprised by the response of corporations to her success in Barcelona, where she won a gold in the 800 freestyle and a silver in the 400 free.

“It’s amazing,” Evans said. “It’s been really great.”

Evans’ marketability was enhanced by the classy way in which she handled not winning the gold in the 400 freestyle.

“The thing was, I tried my hardest, honestly,” Evans said. “I wasn’t upset. Inside, I was honestly happy. I gave it all I had.”

Unlike 1988 when Evans returned from Seoul to a rousing block party, her Placentia neighborhood was quiet when she came home from Barcelona--via the White House--Wednesday.

“It was all quiet, which was really nice,” she said. “People here know I haven’t been training here.”

But Orange County did not forget her.

Monday morning she was treated to a reception in Placentia and Monday afternoon she participated in a parade at Disneyland.

Tonight, she travels to New York City for an appearance on “A Closer Look With Faith Daniels.”

Evans also will make appearances in Tokyo and has planned several other trips to New York.