Bella Sims is a competitive swimmer who represents the United States internationally. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, at the age of 16, Sims qualified for the Olympic Team as a member of the 4×200 free relay by finishing 5th in the 200 free.
National/International Career
Coming into the 2021 Olympic Trials, Bella Sims was already getting quite a bit of attention. She had hit the most Olympic Trial cuts of any swimmer in the country (11) and ended up competing in 4 events at the Wave II meet: 100, 200, 800 free, and 100 fly.
She was also ranked #1 in SwimSwam’s Way Too Early Recruit Ranks for the Class of 2023, which came out on June 3, 2021, just before the trials started.
2021 Olympic Trials (Omaha, Nebraska)
In Omaha, Sims started her program with the 100 fly on day 1, tying for 33rd in a time of 1:00.02. In her next event, the 200 free, she made huge strides, qualifying for the final and ultimately finishing 5th in 1:57.53, earning her a spot on the Olympic team for the 4×200 free relay. This made her the lowest seed (39th) to make the US Olympic swimming team since 2000.
She finished the meet by swimming prelims of the 100 free (48th, 56.48) and prelims/finals of the 800 free, finishing 5th overall at 8:23.55.
2020 Olympic Games
At her first Olympic Games, Sims led off the 800 free relay in the prelims, splitting 1:58.59 to help the US advance to the final. The team would go on to finish 2nd, netting Sims a silver medal.
2022 World Championship Trials
In Greensboro, Bella made her first world championships team by finishing 5th in the 200 free (1:57.71). She also went a slue of personal bests, including in the 400 free (4:06.61, 3rd), 800 free (8:22.36, 3rd), 1500 free (16:15.87, 3rd), and 200 fly (2:11.42, time trial).
2022 World Championships
In Budapest, Sims made the most of her 2 relay swims. On day 5 in the prelims of 800 free relay, Sims anchored USA’s relay in 1:55.91, helping them secure a spot in the final and earning herself a swim on the night relay. In the final, Sims anchored once again, going over a second faster than she did in prelims to bring USA home in 1:54.60 for gold in a new championship record.
2023 U.S. International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
To the surprise of some and the joy of others, Sims was able to palace 8th in the prelims of the 100 free with 54.18. It seemed like the buzz of Swimswam comment sections and Swimming Twitter with hashtag #letbellasprint was manifesting but Sims finished 7th in the final, just out of a relay spot, with a 53.73. In the 200 free, Sims cracked a new best time of 1:57.07 in the prelims for 4th. In the finals, she dropped a further .99 second to 1:56.08 to place 3rd and secure qualification for Worlds.
Next, she took on the 400 free. She laid off the pedal in prelims with a 4:o7.96 to earn the 4th seed for finals. In the final, Sims led for the 1st 100 with a 57.47 but Katie Ledecky reeled her in. Sims secured an individual berth at worlds with her 2nd place behind Ledecky in a fantastic 4:03.25.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
Sims opened her meet with the 400 free, qualifying for the final with a 4:04.25. In the final, Sims ended up 8th in 4:05.37. In the 200 free, Sims made it through prelims with a 1:57.71 and qualified for the final with a 1:55.45, a new personal record. In the final, Sims was a bit off in 1:56.00 for 6th. On relays, Sims was an excellent 1:54.64 to help the US to a silver in the 800 free relay and a 54.05 to anchor the prelims mixed 400 free relay that later took silver.
Jan 23, 2024 – Bella Sims Signs Partnership With Speedo
Speedo, renowned for its Fastskin® LZR® Intent and LZR Valor swimsuits, announced a new partnership with American swimming sensation Arabella “Bella” Gabrielle Sims. This collaboration between Speedo and Bella, brings together one of the most iconic swim brands with a rising star in competitive swimming.
As part of the partnership, Bella will represent Speedo and wear the brand’s cutting-edge swimwear and accessories in her upcoming competitions. Notably, she will be racing in the latest edition of Speedo’s pioneering Fastskin® LZR® Valor 2.0 swimsuit developed by Speedo’s Aqualab® research and development facility and engineered from Lamoral®️ Space Tech.
College Swimming
2023-24
Highly touted for a reason, Sims made an immediate impact at Florida. In her first meet against Vanderbilt, Sims won 3 events, taking the 100 free (49.20), 100 back (52.64), and 100 fly (53.60).
In the deeply anticipated Florida/Virginia dual meet, Sims put up some quick times. In the 100 back, she was 51.70 and in the 100 fly, she was 52.09. Most impressively, Sims was 1:52.49 in the 200 back. She also split 47.99 in the 400 free relay.
Against Tennesee and Kentucky, Sims contested the 200 butterfly for the first time in college and posted a nation-leading time of 1:54.05. Sims also triumphed in the 200 back with a 1:52.93.
At the Georgia Invite, Sims showed her typical incredible range. She took wins in the 500 free (4.32.53) and 400 IM (4:01.47). That 500 free tied Brittany MacLean’s record SEC record set in 2014. She swam the prelims of the 200 fly (1:55.02) and 200 back (1:51.15) on the final day but scratched the final. She also put up some big relay splits, clocking a 21.64 50 free, 1:43.34 200 free, 23.93 50 back, and 51.03 100 back.
At the Florida Invite, Sims blasted a personal-best 50.44 in the 100 backstroke. Not only does her new lifetime best rank 7th in both the NCAA and 17-18 NAG rankings, but it also snuck under Gemma Spofforth‘s old school record of 50.46 from 2009. Sims returned to the pool just a few minutes later leading off in the 800 free relay, where she blazed a season-best 1:43.04, barely missing Isabelle Ivey’s new school record from earlier in the session by .01 seconds.
Sims kicked off SEC Championships with a bang: she broke the SEC record in the 200 frees as she swam a 1:40.90 leading off the team’s 800 freestyle relay. That relay ended up winning and setting a new SEC record too.
Sims opted for the 200 IM on day 2 but was neutered with no time. In prelims, she was solid with a 1:55.12 for 5th but she really dropped the hammer in the final with a 1:51.86 for the win. That marked her 2nd PB of the finals session as earlier, Sims led off in the 200 free relay with a 21.88.
Sims blasted a season-best 1:51.45 to win the 200 fly final on night 4, taking down the SEC Championship meet, SEC conference, and Florida program records in the process. She fell just .13 short of breaking the Auburn pool record, set by Katinka Hosszu in 2012. She followed that up with a 50.07 100 back leadoff in the 400 medley relay; that was a new PB and program record.
On the final night, Sims posted a 1:49.04 200 back to go 3-for-3. She then split 46.54 to help Florida break the SEC record in the 400 free relay.
With such versatility, Sims had many options with her NCAA lineup but opted for the 200/500 free and the 200 back plus relays. Sims Kicked things off with a field-leading 1:41.03 200 free leadoff in the 800 free relay to help Florida win that relay for the first time since 1989.
The next morning, Sims cruised through the 500 free prelims with a 4:35.01 for 3rd. In the final, Sims took out the race quickly, flipping in 23.98 at the 50. The field began to catch up to her during the back half of the race, but Sims had built up enough of a lead that it didn’t matter. In her first individual NCAA event, Sims claimed her first title and the Gators first in the 500 free since 2008. She improved on her SEC record and season-best to 4:32.47.
In the 200 free final, Sims took out her race fast but Anna Peplowski closed her race fast, bringing the race to the touch. In the end, Sims held off Peplowski by a mere .07 seconds, matching her season best of 1:40.90. Sims followed that up with a 50.02 100 back leadoff in the 400 medley relay.
On the final day, Sims seemed close to going 3-for-3, with just the 200 back remaining. Sims got out to her signature fast start, flipping first at the 25 and 50 walls. She led Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller, 25.04 to 25.21, at the 50. Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon moved to second place at the 100, with Sims leading, 51.85 to 51.91. Bacon continued to outsplit Sims on the 3rd 50, going 27.6 to turn in 1:19.59 at the 150. Sims was .6 back, holding NC State’s Kennedy Noble at bay. Noble had the fastest 4th 50 of the field, going 27.7 to touch out Sims by .04. Sims ended up with a 1:48.47 for 3rd.
Sims Wrapped things up with a 47.01 100 free to put Florida in the lead at the 100 in the 400 free relay. The Gators ended up 2nd. Sims’ 56 points individual points helped Florida finish 3rd overall and was the 3rd most of any athlete.
