Sims-Stone emerges from the pits
From once being an elite athlete Adriane Sims is undergoing a rejuvenation.
The former St. Augustine's high jumper who won CIAA (2000) and NCAA Div. II national championships (1999 and 2000) and made the finals of the 2000 U. S. Olympic Trials has qualified for this year's Trials after eight years away from competition.
An inspirational story about Sims, now married with three
children and going by the name Adriane Sims Stone, and her battle to
overcome alcohol and cigarette addictions, get her weight down
from over 230 pounds and return to competition, appeared in the June 1
edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin written by Cindy Luis.
The 28-year old Sims now lives in Hawaii with her husband Kenneth who is in the military. She made the 2008 Olympic Trials current "B" standard of six feet in the high jump at a meet in Hawaii in May. That means for now she has qualified for the '08 Trials to be staged later this month in Eugene, Oregon.
The story chronicles how an inner voice she heard in November of last year and a chance meeting with her former coach, legendary present St. Augustine's and former head Olympic track coach George Williams, in Hawaii in December 2007 spurred her to turn her life around and resume training and competition.
Competing since January and now at 150 pounds, the svelte and talented Sims-Stone has regained her form. She volunteered to coach high jumpers at a local high school (Millani High School) in exchange for use of its facilities for her training. The exchange has worked out for both the school's high jumpers and for Sims-Stone.
The grateful high school track coach, Marshall Ochi, is working
to find sponsors to send Sims-Stone to the Trials.
"She's worked so hard to make it this far and she can't really afford to make it to Eugene," he said. "We hope her story will inspire people to help us get her there."
Sims-Stone's story by Cindy Luis "Stone bounding with joy" can be read online at: http://starbulletin.com/2008/06/01/sports/story02.html
To make a donation for her Olympic Trials competition, e-mail Marshall Ochi at: pokeyochi@hawaii.rr.com
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.