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Daniel Diehl, a Cumberland YMCA Sea Otter swimmer, has every right to brag about his accomplishments. The muscular 17-year-old recently destroyed his rivals and broke or came close to breaking a number of age group records across the nation.
In the 100m backstrokes, Daniel Diehl successfully defended his hold on the American boys' 17-18 National Age Group Record. In the US Open preliminary round in Greensboro, North Carolina, Diehl sprinted to a time of 53.11, shattering the nine-year-old NAG record of 53.38 set by six-time Olympic champion Ryan Murphy in 2013.
Who is Daniel Diehl?
Daniel Diehl is an American swimmer born on October 26, 2005. He holds the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and the 450-meter mixed freestyle relay world junior record. He earned gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x100-meter medley relay, and 4x100-meter mixed medley relay at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.
He trains with the Cumberland YMCA swim team under the direction of coach Brian Dowling. Diehl's coach first spotted the youngster's impressive stroke when he was 11 years old.
Daniel Diehl career and records
With a time of 1:36.75, 14-year-old Daniel Diehl of the Cumberland YMCA in Maryland broke the 200m freestyle short course National Age Group Record. On the all-time list, the swimmer overtook Destin Lasco, who previously held the NAG mark at 1:38.24. Diehl's best time was 1:40.01, which he achieved in March of this year, placing him 25th all-time among swimmers in the 13-14 age group.
At the age of 15, Diehl finished 31st in the 100m backstrokes at the 2021 US Olympic Trials. Since then, he has improved significantly. Following his swim in March that broke the 15-16 NAG mark, he placed eighth in the 100 back NAG at the International Team Trials in April before winning the competition at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August and winning three further gold medals for the American relays.
The fact that Diehl smashed Murphy's record while still 16 years old and had already broken the 15-16 NAG at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August at a time of 53.27 made it all but certain that he would beat Murphy's record. Diehl first seized control of Murphy's 15-16 NAG record in March 2022 when he went 53.59 to defeat Murphy's 53.76 swims from 2012. With that swim, Diehl broke Murphy's record for the third time.
At the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany, Diehl helped his teammates Quintin McCarty, Kristina Paegle, and Carly Novelline win the gold medal by swimming the opening leg of the 450-meter mixed freestyle relay at a time that set a new world junior record of 1:31.50. He once again assisted in helping his team win the gold medal in the 450-meter mixed freestyle relay at the stop held at Danube Arena in Budapest, Hungary, six days later. This time, he split with a 22.45 to boost the team's final time of 1:32.34.
In the morning preliminary heats of the 200-meter backstroke on day one of the 2022 FINA Swimming World Cup stop held at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis in November, Diehl swam a personal-best time of 1:53.71, moving up to the final ranking sixth.
Diehl qualified for seats in the American squad for the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships at the 2022 USA Swimming International Team Trials in Greensboro in April thanks to his performance in the 100-meter backstroke when he finished eighth with a time of 54.15 seconds.
