US runner-up finish nets silver for local swimmer Bella Sims

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It’s not the astir communal way to Olympic success, but it isn’t unprecedented.

Josh Davis didn’t aquatics competitively until precocious school, but won 3 golden medals successful the 1996 Olympic Games successful Atlanta and 2 metallic medals successful 2000 successful Sydney.

Las Vegas autochthonal Bella Sims didn’t aquatics until she took lessons astatine property 10. Now, six years later, she’s an Olympic medalist, earning metallic aft helping her squad suffice for the 800-meter freestyle last successful Tokyo.

“For idiosyncratic similar Bella, (a precocious start) is not unheard of, but it’s super, ace rare,” said Jake Des Roches, a Sandpipers of Nevada coach.

Katie Ledecky replaced Sims successful Thursday’s last for the U.S., which finished with an American grounds of 7 minutes, 40.73 seconds. China acceptable the satellite grounds with a 7:40.33.

Like her teammates, Sims besides receives a metallic medal, continuing rather a tally for the Las Vegas-based Sandpipers. Bowe Becker won golden successful the 400 escaped relay, and Erica Sullivan took metallic successful the 1,500 free.

Sullivan’s show Wednesday gave the U.S. a 1-2 finish, with Ledecky winning the lawsuit successful 15:37.34. Sullivan went hard aft Ledecky successful the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier fading late, but took the other attack astatine the Olympics, falling down earlier charging from 5th to 2nd successful 15:41.41.

“The past 300, 400 meters was wherever she knew she had the astir opportunity,” Des Roches said. “She knew she was stronger determination than anyone else.”

Des Roches said helium could spot Sullivan returning successful 2024 for the Paris Olympics to vie successful a region lawsuit oregon adjacent unfastened water, wherever she is simply a two-time nationalist champion.

The opportunities are adjacent much wide open, helium said, for Sims.

She qualified for 11 of the 14 idiosyncratic events astatine the trials, tops among each swimmers. Her show successful the 200 escaped got her onto the Olympic relay team.

“She’s going to support getting amended astatine that 200 free, but she’s besides going to support getting amended astatine everything else,” Des Roches said. “Swimmers’ champion events and their champion strokes and races tin alteration implicit time. Two years from now, she could beryllium the champion 200 IMer successful the country, the champion 100 freestyler.”

A roundup of different races:

— Robert Finke rallied from 4th to archetypal connected the last thigh to springiness the U.S. golden successful the 800 escaped with a 7:41.87.

— Australia’s Izaac Stubblety-Cook won the 200 breaststroke successful 2:06.38, and American Nic Fink was 5th with a clip of 2:07.93.

— Americans Regan Smith (2:05.30) and Hali Flickinger (2:05.65) took metallic and bronze successful the 200 butterfly. China’s Yufei Zhang acceptable an Olympic grounds of 2:03.86 to triumph gold.

— Caeleb Dressel won golden successful the 100 escaped with an Olympic grounds of 47.02 to clasp disconnected Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, who finished .06 behind.

Contact newsman Mark Anderson astatine manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 connected Twitter.

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