Thursday, May 26, 2022
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Trailblazers: Bella Sims
In November 2020, the Toyota U.S. Open was held across nine sites due to the impact of COVID-19. While dozens of stars competed at various locations around the country, it was then-15-year-old Bella Sims who took the spotlight in the 800-meter freestyle.
Sims entered the event with a seed time of 8:35.96 and went on to swim a 8:27.01 to touch first ahead of U.S. National Team members Ally McHugh, Erica Sullivan, Ashley Twichell and Emma Weyant. She was the youngest swimmer to win an event at the competition.
The swim garnered national attention and gave Sims one of her 11 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming cuts, which was more than any other swimmer who competed in Omaha last year.
In Omaha, her first Olympic Trials, she went on to finish fifth in the Trials 200m freestyle to earn her a relay opportunity in Tokyo. She made her Olympic debut by leading off the relay for the U.S. in the preliminary session and helped the team finish as second seed ahead of the final, where the U.S. women went on to capture silver.
With her silver, Sims became the 19th-youngest U.S. female swimmer to medal at the Olympics.
The Sandpipers of Nevada product has continued to post impressive performances this year, finishing third in the 2022 Open Water National Championships 5K and posting top-10 times in the world this year in both the 800- and 1500m freestyle. She also recently qualified for the 2022 FINA World Championships roster via another fifth-place finish in the 200m freestyle.
To read more on Sims' career, read this 2021 feature on the talented swimmer or visit her U.S. National Team bio.
Sims entered the event with a seed time of 8:35.96 and went on to swim a 8:27.01 to touch first ahead of U.S. National Team members Ally McHugh, Erica Sullivan, Ashley Twichell and Emma Weyant. She was the youngest swimmer to win an event at the competition.
The swim garnered national attention and gave Sims one of her 11 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming cuts, which was more than any other swimmer who competed in Omaha last year.
In Omaha, her first Olympic Trials, she went on to finish fifth in the Trials 200m freestyle to earn her a relay opportunity in Tokyo. She made her Olympic debut by leading off the relay for the U.S. in the preliminary session and helped the team finish as second seed ahead of the final, where the U.S. women went on to capture silver.
With her silver, Sims became the 19th-youngest U.S. female swimmer to medal at the Olympics.
The Sandpipers of Nevada product has continued to post impressive performances this year, finishing third in the 2022 Open Water National Championships 5K and posting top-10 times in the world this year in both the 800- and 1500m freestyle. She also recently qualified for the 2022 FINA World Championships roster via another fifth-place finish in the 200m freestyle.
To read more on Sims' career, read this 2021 feature on the talented swimmer or visit her U.S. National Team bio.