Speaking from a live link in Los Angeles, Evans - four times an Olympic swimming gold medallist - insisted that freedom of expression would be positively encouraged at the LA Games.

"When I won my first Olympic gold medals in Seoul I had just turned 17," she told long-time Olympic journalist Alan Abrahamson, "and my parents said ‘what are you going to do with this? You have to use this for the greater good.’

"So I feel like athletes have a voice and I think that’s one of the things in Los Angeles - our athletes have manifestos, and they can use Los Angeles and what we have to talk about their platforms, about what they believe in, about what’s important for them.

"Being an athlete is amazing, but having a platform to stand on outside and above that is something that we are encouraging in Los Angeles."

Her comments come at a time of widespread debate over athletes’ rights to express political or human rights beliefs through actions such as taking the knee, as many have in recent months across a range of sports to offer support for the initial Black Lives Matter movement.

The International Olympic Committee's Rule 50 states: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

Asked what the Los Angeles Games legacy might look like, given that nothing extra needs to be built to host the event, Evans focused on community.

"During the bid we spoke a lot about the Olympics being part of the DNA of the city of Los Angeles and it really is," she said.

"We talked to individuals that still have their volunteer uniform from the 84 Games.

"People talk about those Games all the time - even young people say their parents or grandparents have a story.

"We named Tenth Street in Los Angeles as Olympic Boulevard, named after the tenth Olympic Games that were held in the city in 1932.

"So literally and figuratively the Olympics is woven through the fabric of our city.

"And we plan to expand that.

"The great thing is that we don’t have anything to build, and we have a lot of time.

"So how do we expand human legacy?

"We are investing $160 million (£117 million/€133 million) in youth sport in the city of Los Angeles to give youth access to sports maybe they might not have known about.

"Maybe we have a young person that takes up fencing that never knew what it was, for example.

"We expect that legacy to continue well past what the Games bring.

"Our fans are important to us.

"How do we ensure our fans have an experience at the Games, maybe using technology, that is second to none?

"How do we amplify the Paralympics?

"We have never hosted a Paralympic Games, so what does that legacy look like?

"How do we bring disability to the forefront of the conversation in our city?

"And then of course how do we give the athletes an experience that lasts well beyond the Games?

"I went to three Olympics - and granted it was a long time ago so that could be part of it!

"But it is 16 days and it is a blur.

"All three Games I went to were incredible.

"I had a venue to swim in, a bed to sleep in, incredible food, cultural experiences - but after my 16 days were over my life continued.

"So how do we in LA 2028 – besides doing all those things we know we can do, provide a swimming pool or a gymnasium or a basketball court, and a bag, and food, and transportation - what is our legacy for athletes after that?

"How do we support them as they go back into the real world, post-Games. How do we support their friends and family?

"How do we give them the outlet that maybe they might not normally have.

"How do we help them remember?

"So those are the concepts that we really attack every day on my team, which is the Athlete Team - which is using athletes to engage fans, using athletes to help engage our communities, finding those athletes that can be inspirational to all of us and giving them a legacy that goes well beyond the 16 days that they will spend within our city."