Competing Against Veterans Like Katie Ledecky and Leah Smith, 18-Year-Old Swimmer Drops Historic Win to Become ‘Fifth Fastest’ in United States

On 30 June, the 2023 U.S. National Championships held in Indianapolis witnessed an incredible performance by an 18-year-old swimmer that left spectators in awe. Competing against strong competitors and seasoned veterans, Bella Sims managed to keep pace with the best swimming stalwarts in the country.

Sims participated in the U.S. National Championships’ LCM 400 m freestyle event on Friday night. She gave stiff competition to Katie Ledecky, the seven-time Olympic gold medal winner and Leah Smith, who also has one Olympic gold medal to her name. Sims was not only able to hold her own against these accomplished swimmers, but also managed to set a new personal best and move up the national ranks.

Bella Sims’ Remarkable Feat at the 2023 U.S. National Championships

Bella Sims finished the 400 m LCM with 4:03.25. This became her new personal best time and placed her as the runner-up in the event. Katie Ledecky won the race, although it did not look like she would at first. Sims started the race and swam faster than the legendary swimmer. She was also the first one to reach the 100 m mark. From this point onwards, Ledecky gradually picked up her pace and began to close the gap between her and Sims. By the time they reached the 300 m mar, Ledecky had managed to maintain a lead against Sims with Leah Smith on the latter’s tail. She finished the race within 4:00.45. Sims came in a close second with 4:03.25 beating out Smith, who came third.

In a tweet, a fan has clubbed Sims in the same category as veterans Katie Ledecky and Leah Smith, calling them “the lethal trio”. This earned Bella Sims the title of the fifth fastest swimmer in America. She also made it to the third rank of all swimmers in the sub-18 category. Previously, Sims ranked 21st among all swimmers in America and 11th in her age group. She had scored her previous best time of  4:06.41 in the Pro Swim-Mission Viejo that took place last month.

Bella Sims’ Impressive Performance and Qualification to Worlds

Sims has definitely come a long way since 2022 when she could not make it into the World team by three seconds. Fans loved Bella’s performance. They are optimistic about the U.S. team’s prospects in the World Championships. Sims also finished third in the 200 m freestyle within 1:56.08, enabling her to participate in the 4×200 free relay in the World Championship games.

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Fans of the sport still remember how she helped the U.S. Team win gold last summer by closing in on a huge gap of 1:54.60 in the 4×200 free relay. Seeing her qualify again gives fans hope for the 2023 World Championship.

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