To say Bella (full name Arabella) Sims just finished a busy weekend at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio is an understatement. 

The 15-year-old – who was recently named to her first National Team in the 800 freestyle – competed in seven events over the course of four days (the bulk of it over three).

“I’m looking forward to getting in the water and competing against the top swimmers,” she said prior to Thursday’s initial event – the 800 free. “I also want to swim fast enough to get my (Olympic) Trials cuts in the 50 free and 100 fly. I’m excited.”

And while the high school sophomore didn’t make Trials cuts in either event this weekend, she did make the finals in every one of her events – an important step on the path to her first Trials this summer in Omaha. 

For Sims, San Antonio was just her second long course meet since March 2020 when COVID hit and everything shut down.

She knows she still has several more opportunities between now and June to chase down those last two cuts. 

Sims said she was simply ready to get back into the water and compete regardless of what happened in Texas. 

“It’s been a long time since we had a meet like this to compete in,” she said. “We’re all eager to compete and see where we are in our training and where we still need to go to be at our best for Trials this summer.”

Sims' road to Omaha is relatively short in terms of how long she’s actually been swimming. 
She did start until she was 10 – less than 6 years ago – and it was after the 2016 Olympic Trials (which she said she didn’t watch on TV) that she really started training seriously. 

Despite this “newness” to swimming, she said she knew right away that one day she’d love to be an Olympian – something she said she thinks most swimmers dream about as youngsters. 

But it’s only been within the past year that she’s given her possibilities for Tokyo (or later) real credence. 

“It wasn’t until just recently that I even knew how close I am (to potentially making the Olympic team),” said Sims, who is home-schooled to accommodate her training and travel schedules. “Four-plus years ago before (2016) Trials, I was still just taking lessons. So, now to be in the talk about being a possible Olympian in 2021 or 2024 is nerve-wracking, but also so exciting. 

“The Olympics has always been my goal, but being named to my first National Team provides extra motivation.”

Even with her new personal swimming revelations, Sims realizes her best events – the mid- and distance-freestyle events – are stacked competitively. 

Every day as a member of the Sandpipers of Nevada swim team, she competes against Erica Sullivan, who will be one of her top competitors at June's Olympic Trials. 

In fact, it was at last November’s 2020 Toyota U.S. Open where Sims won the 800 free against an impressive field that included Sullivan, Ally McHugh and 2021 Open Water Olympian Ashley Twichell. Her winning time was eight seconds faster than her entry time of 8:35.96.

That meet not only placed her on the National Team but catapulted her into the top contender echelon this summer in Omaha. 

“These will be my first Trials, so I’m really approaching it as an experience – an opportunity to learn,” said Sims, who will turn 16 before Trials start June 13. “If I swim fast and make the team, that will be awesome. But I really just want to experience everything about the meet.”

Sims, who said she doesn’t keep up with her National and world rankings because it “stresses her out,” said while her expectations in Omaha are undefined at this point, she knows when she swims that she’s doing it for everyone who has supported her and continues to support her as she pursues her Olympic dreams. 

“During the shut down (last spring), it was the excitement of being back with my (Sandpiper) teammates that motivated me most to get back in the water,” said Sims, who swam in nearby Lake Mead to keep fit and train while her club pool was closed. “It's my teammates and parents and family that keep me excited to swim. I don’t know what I’d do without them. 

“I’m generally a self-motivator – always have been – but whenever I need an extra push, it comes from my thoughts of them and not wanting to let them down. I was taught to do what others aren’t willing to do to be the best, and that is something I am reminded of by the people most important to me.”