Sims proves a master of her craft at Champs
BORDER’S latest starlet of cross-country, track and field events, Cherise Sims brought home two South African titles at the weekend.
Sims who, just two weeks ago, won the Southern Region African Cross-Country Championships in Mauritius retained her 3 000m steeplechase title and then went on, the following day, to surprise many and win the 10 000m as well.
The diminutive Sims, who runs for Easy Equities Born 2 Run, is all heart and she showed it. Once again she would come up against the altitude bogey, dismiss it and overcome any impediment it might offer.
Although Sims is happy to have won the steeplechase again, in a slightly faster time, she felt her form at the jumps could have been better. Nonetheless she won very comfortably in a time of 10:41 to claim her second South African title.
Mission accomplished there was only one distance event left on the programme and that was the 10 000m which she had never raced at this level before. She decided to enter the event.
Her tactics were to run at a pace she was used to and so found herself at the back of the field.
The 2017 silver medallist, Cornelia Joubert went out hard and led for the first 3 000m but then began to show fatigue and was passed by Lesego Mpeshe, who in turn led for the next 3 000m.
Sims was all the while closing in and when she took the lead she also took no prisoners, going on to surprise the South African athletics fraternity in taking gold.
Her winning time was personal best 35:55. Sims is also the first woman in history to win gold in both the 3 000m steeplechase and the 10 000m at the same championships.
Interviewed upon her return to East London she said, “The steeplechase is my main event and I was not expecting anything from the 10 000m. So I simply went out and ran. I am so happy to get the double.”
The next event for Sims is the Spar Ladies 10km in Cape Town on Saturday.
She intends to enter the entire Spar series which includes races in the cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth.
A trip to Europe is also in the planning stages for the European track season.