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Salmon Arm distance runner wins Athletics gold

BC Summer Games - Salmon Arm wins Gold in Athletics - Sunday, July 22, 2012

by Ally Ginther:

Glynis Sim traveled all the way from Salmon Arm to compete in the athletics portion of the BC Summer Games. Coming with her Thompson-Okanagan team (Zone 2), Sim raced through the finish of the 2000 m in a time of 6:37.39, beating her own personal best of 6:42, which she hit the last time she ran the event. She also just edged her teammate Kendall Fitzgerald of Kamloops, as well, turning on one last powerful kick within the last 50 m of the five-lap race at Surrey's Bear Creek Park.

“I didn’t want to start too fast, but I wanted to keep up the pace most of the race, and then speed up the last lap,” Sim said.

She ended up running her first lap a little faster than she had planned, but the end result was still a gold medal finish. The 14-year-old’s strategy to finish off the race fast also aided in beating another competitor who has often beat her before in the 2000 m event.

Burnaby’s Jemal Reta of Fraser River-Delta (Zone 4), placed first in the men’s section of the 2000 m. He set a new record for the event, making him the BC Games record holder for both the 2000 m and the 1500 m Steeple Chase at the BC Games. Reta finished in a time of 5:46.23 for the long distance event.