It was a grand gala as the nonprofit Orange County Youth Sports Foundation honored Olympians Ann Meyers Drysdale, Janet Evans and April Ross in a Jan. 10 event emceed by veteran sportscaster and longtime Olympic television host Bob Costas.
Meyers Drysdale (Sonora High) and Ross (Newport Harbor High) were multisport athletes growing up in Orange County, while Evans (El Dorado High) won four Olympic gold medals in swimming.
“Here’s a video clip of me interviewing Janet Evans half my lifetime ago for NBC at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games,” Costas said during a panel discussion with the honorees.
Costas, a Newport Coast resident, said his three favorite moments in broadcasting were Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot against Utah in the 1998 NBA finals, Kirk Gibson’s home run in the 1988 World Series and Evans carrying the torch and joining Muhammad Ali for the iconic lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“I’d give up all of my medals to do that again,” said Evans, a Laguna Beach resident and member of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic committee.
Ross, who became a mother for the first time three months ago, has won Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals in beach volleyball. She won gold with partner Alix Klineman at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, silver at the 2012 London Games with Jen Kessy, after wining gold at the 2011 World Championships in Norway, and an Olympic bronze with Kerri Walsh at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Ross, a national high school and collegiate player of the year in volleyball at Newport Harbor and USC, respectively, was an outstanding athlete in volleyball, basketball and track and field at Newport Harbor. She graduated with the Class of 2000.
Ross said she’s ready for a comeback and wants to play in the LA 2028 Games.
“We’ll throw it out there and see what the universe thinks,” said Ross, who will be 46 in 2028. “I thought 39 was too old to play (in Tokyo), and we won a gold medal. I’m going…
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