Dave Sime
 Dave Sime at the 1960 Olympics | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 25, 1936 Paterson, New Jersey, United States | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Sprint running | |||||||||||
| Club | Duke Blue Devils, Durham | |||||||||||
Medal record
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David William "Dave" Sime (/sɪm/) is a former American sprinter. He ranked as one of the fastest humans of all time, holding several sprint records during the late 1950s.[1]
Biography
Born on July 25, 1936 in Paterson, New Jersey, Sime grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where he attended Fair Lawn High School.[2] Sime came to prominence in 1956 while attending Duke University as a member of the baseball football and track and field teams.
Sime tried to attend West Point as his dream was to become a pilot but upon learning he was colorblind accepted a baseball scholarship from Duke. His beginnings in track were accidental. His 100 yard dash on an unmoved grass surface was an astounding 9.8 seconds and the coaches soon asked him to join the track team. He also played football at Duke.
His first year he did not make it to the olympics but he competed in Rome four years later, and was second to Armin Hary in the Olympic 100 m. He anchored the U.S. to an apparent victory in the 4×100 m relay. However, the U.S. team was disqualified for passing out of the zone, and Sime lost his chance at an Olympic gold medal. During his career, he held world records at 100 yard, 220 yard, and the 220 yd low hurdles.
After college, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 29th round (341st overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft. Sime never played sports professionally instead became an ophthalmologist in Florida.[3]
CIA mission
On the eve of the Rome Olympics, Sime was approached by the Central Intelligence Agency and recruited to help secure the defection of Soviet athlete Igor Ter-Ovanesyan.[4] Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.[5]
Notes
- ^ Dave Sime. sports-reference.com
- ^ Roberts, Jeff. "Intriguing People: Dave Sime", The Record (Bergen County), April 25, 2010. Accessed June 25, 2013. "This was the moment that changed everything for the Paterson-born, Fair Lawn-bred Sime.""Sime Has Great Day, Breaks World Record", The Miami News via Associated Press, May 6, 1956. Accessed August 31, 2011. "The 190-pound Fair Lawn, N.J., sophomore, a hot prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, won the 100-yard dash in 9.4, his sixth such performance this year."
- ^ http://www.dukechronicle.com/blog/blue-zone/2011/02/ballad-dave-sime
- ^ Maraniss, p. 26
- ^ Maraniss, p. 257
References
- Maraniss, David (2008). Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World. New York, Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1-4165-3407-5.
External links
