Aja Evans
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||
| Born |
May 12, 1988 Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||||
| Residence | Homewood, Illinois | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||
| Sport | bobsled | ||||||||||||
| College team |
University of Nevada, Las Vegas University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||||||||||||
Medal record
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Aja Evans (born 12 May 1988) is an American bobsledder who competes as a brakeman. She previously competed in track & field as a college athlete.
Career
Evans attended UNLV before transferring to the University of Illinois.[1] Evans competed in both shot put and sprinting in college, and competed in shot put at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials.[1]
Evans was a brakeman for drivers Jamie Greubel, Elana Meyers, and Jazmine Fenlator in the 2012–2013 World Cup season, earning a bronze in Igls and a silver at the Sochi. In the 2013–2014 World Cup season, she earned silver at Calgary and gold at Park City.[2]
Evans was named to the U.S. Olympic bobsled team for the 2014 Winter Olympics on January 19, 2014.[3]
On February 19, 2014, Evans, along with Jamie Greubel, won the bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Family
Evans comes from a family of athletes. Her father, Fred, became the first black national collegiate champion in swimming when he competed for Chicago State. Her brother, also named Fred, is a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings. Her uncle is retired Major League Baseball outfielder Gary Matthews and her cousin is baseball player Gary Matthews, Jr. [4]
References
- 1 2 University of Illinois profile
- ↑ Aja Evans at TeamUSA.org
- ↑ TeamUSA.org – 2014 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team Announced, January 19, 2014.
- ↑ Hersh, Philip (November 23, 2013). "Chicagoan Evans pushes herself for Olympic bobsled spot". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2014.