Jacob’S Ladder Mead Swimmer Using Trials As Stepping-Stone For 2004

From the first time an opponent scored two points on a takedown to the few times he touched a soccer ball, Jacob Weidert knew swimming was his sport.

Judging by how he’s going to spend the rest of his summer vacation, it was a very good move.

Weidert, a 1999 Mead High graduate, will compete in the U.S. Swim Trials which begin today in Indianapolis. His event, the 200-meter butterfly, begins Friday at the UI Natatorium, a 6,200-capacity building located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Weidert, along with Coeur d’Alene freestyler Chris Wood and 2000 Washington State graduate breaststroker Erin Eldridge of Kirkland, Wash., will be among the approximately 1,300 men and women competing for spots on the USA’s 2000 Olympics team. The top two finishers in each event will make it to Sydney along with the top six in the 100 and 200 freestyle.

Weidert, a 19-year-old extrovert, knows better than to start making international travel plans.

“I decided to go because I think I owe it to Todd,” he said.

Todd is Spokane Area Swimming coach Todd Marsh, Weidert’s club coach who will be with him in Indianapolis. Weidert’s mom, Lucy, also will be there. His siblings, Jennifer, 22, Janet, 15, and Jessica, 13, all butterfly swimmers, will have to wait to hear about their brother’s excellent adventure.

Janet just finished her last year of swimming eligibility at the University of Wyoming. Jacob just finished his freshman year at Wyoming, where he, too, swims for the Cowboys.

“I wanted to be out of state and they offered me a full-ride scholarship,” said Weidert, who will make a quick turnaround back to college after the Trials.

Success has continued on the college level. One year after winning the 19U 200-yard butterfly at the Junior National Swimming Championships in qualifying time, Weidert again qualified at this year’s Mountain West Conference championships. His short-course time was 1 minute, 48.52 seconds.

Weidert’s best long-course time (measured in meters vs. yards) is 2:07. He said he’s hoping to finish in 2:03 in Indy, but that still would be well off the expected winning time of around 1:58.

“This meet will help me,” he said. “I need to get an Olympic trial under my belt. Four years from now is my big shot. My goal here is to exceeded my best time.”

Weidert, whose 6-foot, 195-pound build it unorthodox for a swimmer, has been swimming practically his entire life.

“I’m one of the few Mead non-soccer boys,” he said.

He did, however, go out for wrestling in junior high and gave karate a look, but all it did was take away from his time in the pool.

“I decided swimming is where my talent lay, and that’s the path I had to follow,” he said.

Marsh has been coaching Weidert since Weidert was about seven. This is the second time a Spokane club swimmer has qualified for the Trials since Marsh and his wife, Vicky, took over the team in 1988.

Eight years ago, Nancy Schmidlkofer qualified in the 50-meter freestyle and finished 20th overall.

“He’s an incredible racer,” Marsh said of Weidert. “He loves to race and he loves to win. But he puts everything in perspective and he has realistic expectations.

One thing Weidert expects Friday is that he’ll feel butterflies before the butterfly event.

“My emotions are a perfect mixture of nerves and excitement,” he said. “I’ll be in the locker room with the top swimmers in the world who are going to be taking home Olympic gold.”