SWIMMER MAKING WAVES AGAIN.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

When Nancy Reno stepped back into the pool as a competitor for the first time in more than 20 years, she had few expectations other than to do the best she could.

Today, two years later, she's a world champion in three different events in the women's 40-44 age group.

Reno, who lives in Agoura, won three gold medals at the World Master's Meet in England last week.

Her championships came in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke events. In addition, Reno won a silver medal in the 200-meter IM.

Not bad for somebody who is able to practice just two days a week while raising a family.

``I'm thrilled,'' said Reno, who returned home from England this week. ``I never dreamed I'd be a three-time world champion. I thought winning one would have been nice but to win three is just great. I'm tickled.''

Two of Reno's teammates at the Daland Swim School in Thousand Oaks also did well in England. Julie Wynn took silver medals in the 100-meter freestyle, the 800-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle in the women's age 40-44 competition. Jon Van Scoyk, meanwhile, finished in ninth place in the 50-meter freestyle in the 50-54 age group.

In all, 4,500 swimmers from all over the world competed in the seven-day meet.

Reno won the 200-meter backstroke by more than five seconds. Her main competition came from a pair of swimmers, from East Germany and England, who had strong showings during the preliminary rounds. But in the finals, Reno blitzed her opponents with an impressive performance.

``The main concern for me was to keep my endurance over seven days of competition,'' Reno said.

Reno's return to swimming was based on the opportunity to swim for the Daland Swim School and specifically coach Peter Daland, who coached at USC for more than 30 years.

When Reno was a teen-ager, she was one of the top swimmers in the world and barely missed out on a chance to make the 1972 Olympic team while swimming for the Santa Clara swim club and at UCLA.

She gave up the sport shortly after that to concentrate on other aspects of life, but then decided to return two years ago.

Having been a competitor for most of her younger life, Reno had intentions of doing the best she could once she did make her comeback. At the same time, she realized it would be a slow process to regain her former form - or something close to it.

Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as she originally thought.

``To be honest, I thought it was in the realm of possibility,'' she said of becoming one of the world's top swimmers in her age group. ``But I certainly didn't think it would happen this soon. I thought maybe in a few more years. But to win three gold medals at this point is unbelievable.''

Now that she's at a level she is comfortable with, Reno hopes to improve even more.

``It's a tough act to follow, but it does make me want to work out even more and see how much better I can get.''

Reno, who has two children, can't practice as much as she'd like. That makes her accomplishments even more special.