by Tito Morales<\/p>\n
LONG BEACH, Calif., July 13 – HER name is Amanda and she\u2019s a very talented swimmer, but she\u2019s not a breaststroke specialist.<\/p>\n
Over the course of the past several days, she competed, and competed well, but she didn\u2019t make the team that will be traveling next month to Athens.<\/p>\n
Truth be told, this Amanda — Amanda Sims — never really came close to becoming an Olympian in her two events, the 100 and 200 meter butterfly.<\/p>\n
But there are many more Amanda Simses at these Trials than there are Amanda Beards. And the 15 year old\u2019s perspective here offers a much more accurate picture of what it was really like to have taken part in this country\u2019s most prestigious swim meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, it wasn\u2019t as bad as I thought it would be,\u201d Sims says. \u201cIt ended up being just like another swim meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone who competes at the Trials has been through the rigors of pressure-packed top flight competition, and Sims is no exception. Still, she admits to being somewhat intimidated when she first approached the warm-up pool and saw many of the most recognizable faces in the sport.<\/p>\n
Sims is, without question, the most talented swimmer in her hometown of Santa Rosa. She\u2019s not only the lone swimmer from her club team to have qualified for the Trials, but she\u2019s also the only one from her entire county to have done so.<\/p>\n
But Santa Rosa is no Long Beach — especially not this past week. Her qualifying times of 1:01.67 and 2:15.67 P.R.\u2019s, while great for Northern California, left her seeded squarely in the middle of the pack. Her hope was to swim her way into the top sixteen.<\/p>\n
Sims swam the 100 on the very first morning of competition. Since she\u2019d earned her qualifying standards as a 13 year old, she\u2019d had a full two years to wait for this day.<\/p>\n
Sims and the others in her heat were paraded across the entire length of the 50 meter pool. Despite the fact that she\u2019d never been a part of such elaborate choreography, and that she\u2019d never swum in front of a crowd so large, she actually found this phase of the process to be the most enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part was finally being able to swim,\u201d she explains. \u201cYou\u2019ve been thinking about your race for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some 30 well-wishers had traveled to see her swim, and she found their whistles and cheers of encouragement to be reassuring. It made her feel as if she wasn\u2019t in it alone.<\/p>\n
Sims raced to a 1:01.67, tying her P.R., and then went back to the warm-up pool to wait to see if the time would stick. Subsequent heats, though, kept pushing her lower and lower. She wound up 19th, a huge improvement from her seeding, but short of her goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce that first race was over, it was all good after that,\u201d she says, describing how she began to feel comfortable with the ambience. \u201cI was much more relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the competition moved into full swing, and she watched from the stands as national and world records toppled, Sims found herself eager to get back into the water to try to perform better.<\/p>\n
Her next chance to so something special came a few days later. Aggressive from the start, Sims faded down the stretch but still won her heat in 2:15.73. She remained a top qualifier for some time — until the likes of Misty Hyman and Kim Vandenberg took to the water. This time she\u2019d managed to work her way up to 18th.<\/p>\n
And then, suddenly, her meet was over.<\/p>\n
The years of preparation had yielded no semi-finals and not even a new P.R. But she understands that the experience she gained here was invaluable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have liked to have gone faster,\u201d she admits, saying that if she could do it all over again, she would try to remain more calm in the days leading up to the meet. \u201cThe people who did the best seemed to be the ones who were the most relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n
If anything, Sims\u2019 time spent at the Trials has motivated her to get back into hard training to see if she can\u2019t close the gap between herself and those who finished ahead of her. Fortunately, like many of the athletes here, she has the advantage of youth on her side.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery meet after this will be better because this was the hardest one,\u201d Sims says, already looking toward the future. \u201cIt was definitely the most mentally draining.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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