U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL: ORANGE COUNTY’S DAY : LOS ANGELES 1991 : NOTEBOOK : Von Heiland’s Pair of Silver Medals Keep Olympic Hopes Alive

Erika Von Heiland has traveled the world in hopes of bettering her badminton skills. She’s spent thousands of dollars, gone through two knee surgeries, and put her education and career ambitions on hold.

All in the hope of making an Olympic team that might not exist.

Von Heiland, a former Anaheim resident who now lives in Torrance, is one of the top members of the U.S. Badminton team. Sunday, she won silver medals in singles and doubles events at USC.

In singles, she lost, 2-11, 12-11, 11-6, to her best friend, roommate and former doubles partner Linda French. Von Heiland later teamed with French’s sister, Ann French, in doubles but lost to Linda French and Joy Kitzmiller, 15-3, 15-3.

Although U.S. badminton has improved significantly in recent years, chances are slim that the United States will be much of a force when badminton makes its debut as a medal sport at the 1992 Games at Barcelona.

A year ago, American players began an 18-month qualifying process to be accepted by the International Badminton Federation. Players from the United States have had to play in numerous international grand prix tournaments to receive a ranking--and from that point, possibly an Olympic berth. But there are no guarantees.

It’s a chance Von Heiland will take. She dropped out of Arizona State in January, giving up her badminton scholarship and criminal justice studies, to pursue her dreams.

“I value my education,” said Von Heiland, 25. “But I felt this Olympic qualifying process was worth putting all my energies into. I feel confident I can make it. I have to train 100% and I need all the playing experience I can get, but I want to try.”

With six more months of qualifying play, Von Heiland has a busy schedule. She’ll play in the U.S. Open Sept. 25-29 at the Bren Center, then on to tournaments in Canada, Hungary, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and more. Last year, she played in Japan and trained for six weeks with the world’s best players in Java, Indonesia.

Although Von Heiland receives a small grant from the U.S. Olympic Committee each year--the USOC also helps with travel expenses--she estimated she spent $16,000 of her own money last year. She’s been living in Torrance so she can train at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club--a mecca for serious players in the West, she says--but will soon be moving to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Wis., where her living expenses will be paid for.

“That’ll really help,” Von Heiland said. “Living around Manhattan Beach is mega-buckage.”

Von Heiland was born in the Philippines to a German-Filipino father and an American mother. A tennis player as a youth, Von Heiland played on the national team for the Philippines. Just after her father moved the family to the United States in 1985, Von Heiland underwent arthroscopic surgeries on both knees.

Doctors said her playing days were over. She traveled to China’s Fujien province for two months of acupuncture treatments, but they didn’t help. Finally, she gave in to her doctors’ advice to retire. Weightlifting was the only exercise she could perform without pain.

But three years later, during a vacation in the Philippines, Von Heiland picked up a badminton racquet and began rallying with a friend. There was no pain in her knee--she credits this to the two years of weightlifting--and her career was on its way again.

Even if she doesn’t make it to the Olympics, Von Heiland said she still hopes to help the sport grow in this country. During high school competitions, she referees Southern Section playoff matches and has coached a juniors team at Golden West College.

“I like to help,” she said. “I want to do anything I can to help the sport grow.”

Ups and downs: Olympic shotputter Bonnie Dasse hasn’t ridden a roller coaster in the past week. Maybe that has something to do with her less-than-spectacular finish Sunday in the track and field competition at UCLA.

Dasse, from Irvine, has a penchant for roller coasters--even though they terrify her. Last year before The Athletics Congress championships, she went to Magic Mountain to ride Viper several times. She says it’s her way of getting psyched for a competition.

Sunday, in the subdued Olympic Festival atmosphere, Dasse threw the shot 53 feet 4 1/2 inches to earn a bronze medal. The mark was far from her season’s best of 56-2 3/4--her career record is 63-11 1/2--but Dasse wasn’t too disappointed, as she was after her fourth-place finish at TAC last month.

“Actually, I was just happy to be alive for that meet,” said Dasse, a 1988 Olympian.

After her roller coaster psyche-up, Dasse boarded a Northwest Airlines jet bound for New York, site of the TAC meet. But as the plane made its final approach to LaGuardia Airport, a storm moved in and, at the last second, the pilot decided to abort the landing. The plane, as Dasse described it, swept over Shea Stadium then did something of a rocket imitation.

The thrill ride of her life?

“I’ll tell you what, it scared the living daylights out of us,” said Dasse, who went to Costa Mesa High School and Orange Coast College. “The pilots didn’t talk to us for 30 minutes. We landed in Rhode Island and nine people demanded to get off the plane.

“Just making it to the meet was good enough.”

Add track: Durelle Schimek of Orange was a bronze medalist in the javelin with a throw of 168-3, and Laura Cattivera, who trains under the direction of UC Irvine Coach Vince O’Boyle, won a sliver in the 3,000 in 9 minutes 24.49 seconds.