SWIM MEET OF CHAMPIONS : Rapid Rise Surprises Mission Viejo’s Eric Diehl

The rise of Eric Diehl has begun. He has gone from promising young swimmer to one with a national reputation, all in the past four months.

Now, the next step is close at hand. In a month, Diehl will compete at the Goodwill Games in Seattle.

A strong showing there would give him a foothold on the international level.

“Everything has happened so fast, it’s kind of caught me by surprise,” said Diehl, who will be a senior at Mission Viejo High School this fall. “But I want to compete in the Olympics. That’s my long, long term goal. I need to get more experience against elite swimmers.”

Diehl figures to get plenty of that in the next several weeks. Besides the Goodwill Games, he will swim in the Swim Meet of Champions, which begins Thursday at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.

The meet, which continues through Sunday, will feature several top American swimmers, including Janet Evans, plus members of the East German national team.

It will give Diehl a chance to test how far he’s come since winning the 1,000-meter freestyle at the U.S. Swimming Short Course National Championships in March.

“I hope to swim fast, but all my focus is on next month,” Diehl said. “But this meet will give me another chance to see where I stand. It will give me an idea of how well I will swim at the Goodwill Games.”

Diehl, who swims for the Mission Viejo Nadadores, will compete in the 800-meter freestyle in Seattle. He qualified for the games by winning the 1,000 freestyle at the nationals.

His time of 8 minutes 58.26 seconds was a personal best and made him the only swimmer to finish under nine minutes in the event at that meet.

“I was a little surprised by my performance,” Diehl said. “I expected to do well, especially in that event. But I expected the college swimmers to be much faster. I really thought I was a long shot to win.”

It’s unlikely that Diehl will win Thursday in the 800 freestyle. First, he hasn’t tapered his training for the meet. Second, he’ll be facing stiff competition.

Artur Wojdat, who also swims for the Nadadores, and Sebastian Wiese of East Germany also are entered in the event. Wojdat, who competes for the University of Iowa, was a member of Poland’s Olympic team in 1988 and Wiese is ranked fifth in the world in the 800 freestyle.

“The meet will be faster this year,” Diehl said. “Especially the 800. With Artur alone, it will be faster. But there are a lot more quality swimmers in that event this year.”

Besides the 800, Diehl also will compete in the 100, 200, 400 and 1,500 freestyles. It will be his last meet before tapering for the Goodwill Games.

But Diehl’s summer of competition will not end in Seattle. After the Goodwill Games, he will go to Austin, Texas, for the U.S. Swimming Long Course Senior Nationals, which also will be the qualifying meet for the United States’ World Championship team.

Diehl will compete in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles at that meet.

Another strong showing at the nationals could only enhance Diehl’s reputation.

“Let’s see how I do at the Goodwill Games,” Diehl said. “Then I’ll know how successful my year has been.”

Swim Meet Notes

The only events Thursday will be the men’s and women’s 800 freestyle. The finals are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. . . . A group of 18 East German swimmers will compete, nine men and nine women. Besides Wiese, who also is ranked seventh in the world in the 1,500, the team includes Sabina Schulze, who is ranked seventh in the 200 freestyle and 10th in the 100 freestyle, and Christiane Sievert, who is ranked eighth in the 100 butterfly . . . The United States’ top two women distance swimmers, Evans and Jane Skillman, will be matched against each other Thursday in the 800 freestyle.

AT A GLANCE

What: Swim Meet of Champions, featuring several top U.S. swimmers and members of the East German team.

When: The 800-meter freestyle events are at 4 p.m. Thursday. From Friday through Sunday, preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. and finals begin at 5.

Where: Marguerite Recreation Center, Mission Viejo.

How much: There is no admission charge for preliminary events. Admission for the finals is $3 for adults and $1 for children. For more information, call the Mission Viejo Nadadores Swim Team office at 951-6872, extension 2294.