Bella Sims Breaks the SEC Record – Twice – In the 100 Back on Friday

2025 SEC Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
  • Prelims: 9:30 am EST/ Finals 5:30 pm EST (Tuesday-5:00 EST)
• Location: Gabrielsen Natatorium — Athens, GA
• Defending Champions: Florida women (2x); Florida men (12x)
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• Teams: Alabama, Arkansas (women), Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas*, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women)
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  • Prelims: Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Florida sophomore Bella Sims, whose performances have been the subject of some critique since arriving in Gainesville, broke the SEC Record in the 100 yard backstroke twice in the finals session on Friday evening.

First, she swam 49.20 in the individual 100 backstroke final, winning by .85 seconds ahead of Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller; then she led off Florida’s 400 medley relay with a 48.97, rebreaking her own record and launching the Gators off to a new SEC Record in that relay as well.

Sims’ 100 Back

Much of Sims’ junior success was in middle-distance races. She came to Florida as the third-fastest 500 yard freestyler in history.

While her mid-distance races haven’t really panned out in college (she was 3rd in the 200 IM on Wednesday, about two seconds off her best), the undercurrent of “Let Bella Sprint” energy from social media has gotten its way.

This movement has seen potential in Sims’ sprint abilities, and that was validated by her 100 backstroke results on Friday night.

Her medley relay split of 48.97 lands as the SEC Record and ranks her as the third-best performer in the history of the event.

Top 5 All-Time, Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke

1. 48.10 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2024 ACCs
2. 48.55 – Katharine Berkoff, NC State, 2024 NCAAs
3. 48.97 – Bella Sims, Florida, 2025 SECs
4. 49.16 – Regan Smith, Riptide, 2021 AQJT March Invite
5. 49.18 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin, 2019 NCAAs

Before the night, Sims already held the SEC Record thanks to a mid-season 49.93, but on Friday she lowered that by almost a second.

Splits Comparison:

Florida left Sims off the 200 medley relay on Day 1 of the meet (if she’s doing three individual events, she can only do four relays). The first 50 yard split of her record-setting 100 yard backstroke split was 23.68 – seven-tenths faster than Catie Choate‘s actual leadoff on that relay. Even if Sims couldn’t do better than that (she probably can), Florida would have won that relay and set a new Meet Record.

Sims’ best 100 back time before this season was a 50.02 done on a medley relay leadoff at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

400 Medley Relay Record

Sims propelled the Gators to a new SEC Record-setting time of 3:24.78. She was followed by Anita Bottazzo (breaststroke), Olivia Peoples (butterfly), and Micayla Cronk (freestyle).

Cronk was able to hold off a big 46.32 anchor split from Tennessee’s Camille Spink. The Volunteers finished four-tenths back in 3:25.18, which was a quarter-second from the SEC Record as well.

Tennessee’s 2024 SEC Championship relay was the former Meet Record, swimming 3:24.92. That relay team included Josephine Fuller, Mona McSharry, Brooklyn Douthwright, and Camille Spink, and all but Douthwright are still on the team.

Splits Comparison:

This Florida relay still has room to go at NCAAs if they hit their taper: other than Sims, the other three legs were all slower than their best flat start times, even with the benefit of relay exchanges.

This is the first relay win of the week for the Florida women.