Education
He attended San Jose State, where he was coached by Hall of Famer Lloyd (Bud) Winter.
He attended San Jose State, where he was coached by Hall of Famer Lloyd (Bud) Winter.
He was also a Fulbright Scholar. While running for Overfelt High School in San Jose, California, Evans was undefeated in his high school career, improving his 440-yard time from 48.2 in 1964 to 46.9 in 1965. His only defeat during that streak came at the hands of San Jose State teammate Tommie Smith.
The two were so competitive, Winter could not let them practice together.
The next year he broke the 4 x 220 yd (20117 m) relay world record at Fresno in a time of 1:22.1. Both the times stood as a world record for almost twenty years (the relay, for almost 24 years).
However, the United States couldn"t field a team because Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett were suspended for a demonstration at a medal ceremony similar to the one staged by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the previous Olympics. Evans became a professional after the 1972 season joining the International Track Association (Industry Training Authority) tour.
He had some success on the Industry Training Authority tour notably setting a 600 m indoors world best at the first meet in Idaho State University"s Minidome.
The Industry Training Authority folded in 1976 and Evans was reinstated as an amateur in 1980 and ran a 46.5 in one of his few appearances that year, at the age of thirty-three. Evans went on to head the national athletics programs in six different African Nations before accepting a position as head cross country/track & field coach at the University of South Alabama. Upon fulfilling his contract, Evans plans to return to either Africa or Mexico where "you are truly free – not like this fake freedom America has everybody believing in."
Evans" college and amateur careers as well as his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement is chronicled in Frank Murphy"s The Last Protest: Lee Evans in Mexico City.
Evans was inducted into the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1983.
He was banned from coaching for four years in 2014 when a 16-year-old Nigerian girl he was coaching tested positive for a banned steroid after he advised her to take supplements.
After winning the Amateur Athletic Union 400 m titles in 1969 and 1972, Evans finished only fourth in the 1972 Olympic trials, but was named a member of the 4 x 400 m relay team once more.