Chloe Sims
Encyclopedia
Chloe Leigh Sims is an Australia
n gymnast
. She was born in Queensland
, Australia
and trains at the Moreton Bay College
centre of excellence. She is a national team member and double Commonwealth champion.
Sims made her senior international debut at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
in Melbourne
. There, the Australian team comfortably retained their title after the English challenge melted away following injury and withdrawal from reigning bars champion Beth Tweddle
. Sims, however, was not at her best in the team competition. She fell five times but managed to qualify for the all-around final and also the vault final.
In the all-around, however, she redeemed herself. With title favourites Monette Russo
and Beth Tweddle
injured, there was room for a new face at the top of the podium. As other top gymnasts fell, sometimes more than once, Chloe remained consistent and hit every piece of apparatus. Her more fancied top qualifying teammate Hollie Dykes
fell off every piece of apparatus, and more experienced international rivals such as Shavahn Church
and Gael Mackie
also had problems. She watered down her difficulty on vault and floor to be certain, and it paid off. She and runner up Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs
of Canada
both recorded the same score, but a were separated by a tie break because Chloe's top three scores were the highest. To the delight of the crowd, just 24 hours after her disastrous showing in the team competition Sims was the Commonwealth champion. She showed grace in victory by inviting Hopfner-Hibbs onto the gold medal podium with her, perhaps recognising the narrowness of the margin.
In the vault final, despite having the most difficult vaults of all the competitors in the final, an unfortunate fall on her second vault saw her finish in fifth place.
Injuries prevented Chloe from competing further in 2006. She missed the Pacific Alliance championship because she was having dental surgery, and was too injured to be considered for the world championships in Aarhus
. However she was able to compete on the uneven bars at the Shanghai World Cup in July where she finished fourth.
Chloe returned to competition in 2007 where she competed at the French International and Cottbus Cup meets in March. In May she competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships where she took the bronze medal in the all-around competition, silver on the vault and bronze on the uneven bars. She also competed in an International Apparatus Challenge against China where she took the gold medal.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
. She was born in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and trains at the Moreton Bay College
Moreton Bay College
Moreton Bay College is an independent Uniting Church, day school for girls, located in Manly West, an outer suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaEstablished in 1901 as the Moreton Bay Girls' High School, by Alice J...
centre of excellence. She is a national team member and double Commonwealth champion.
Sims made her senior international debut at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. There, the Australian team comfortably retained their title after the English challenge melted away following injury and withdrawal from reigning bars champion Beth Tweddle
Beth Tweddle
Elizabeth "Beth" Kimberly Tweddle MBE is an English gymnast. Tweddle is a three time world champion having won the 2010 World Championships and 2006 World Championshipson the uneven bars and the 2009 World Championships on the floor...
. Sims, however, was not at her best in the team competition. She fell five times but managed to qualify for the all-around final and also the vault final.
In the all-around, however, she redeemed herself. With title favourites Monette Russo
Monette Russo
Monette Simone Russo is an Australian Artistic Gymnast. She made Australian history by becoming the first Australian gymnast ever to win an individual World Championship medal at the 2005 Melbourne Artistic Gymnastics World Championships when she came third in the all-around competition...
and Beth Tweddle
Beth Tweddle
Elizabeth "Beth" Kimberly Tweddle MBE is an English gymnast. Tweddle is a three time world champion having won the 2010 World Championships and 2006 World Championshipson the uneven bars and the 2009 World Championships on the floor...
injured, there was room for a new face at the top of the podium. As other top gymnasts fell, sometimes more than once, Chloe remained consistent and hit every piece of apparatus. Her more fancied top qualifying teammate Hollie Dykes
Hollie Dykes
Hollie Johnston Dykes is a retired Australian gymnast who was born in Gold Coast, Queensland and began gymnastics at the age of four and a half. She started training at the Australian Institute of Sport in 1998 and was awarded a full scholarship there in 2000...
fell off every piece of apparatus, and more experienced international rivals such as Shavahn Church
Shavahn Church
Shavahn Church is a British gymnast, who lives and trains in California. She formerly competed for the United States but decided in 2005 to represent Great Britain. She made her major international debut at the 2005 world championships in Melbourne...
and Gael Mackie
Gael Mackie
Gael Briane Mackie is a Canadian gymnast and Olympic athlete. Gael came to prominence on the Canadian gymnastics scene by winning the senior national championship at age 14. She currently resides in the city of Coquitlam.Mackie competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece in the Women's...
also had problems. She watered down her difficulty on vault and floor to be certain, and it paid off. She and runner up Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs
Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs
Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs is a Canadian gymnast. She was born in Mississauga, Ontario. She first started gymnastics in 1993, and competed in her first international event in 2001...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
both recorded the same score, but a were separated by a tie break because Chloe's top three scores were the highest. To the delight of the crowd, just 24 hours after her disastrous showing in the team competition Sims was the Commonwealth champion. She showed grace in victory by inviting Hopfner-Hibbs onto the gold medal podium with her, perhaps recognising the narrowness of the margin.
In the vault final, despite having the most difficult vaults of all the competitors in the final, an unfortunate fall on her second vault saw her finish in fifth place.
Injuries prevented Chloe from competing further in 2006. She missed the Pacific Alliance championship because she was having dental surgery, and was too injured to be considered for the world championships in Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
. However she was able to compete on the uneven bars at the Shanghai World Cup in July where she finished fourth.
Chloe returned to competition in 2007 where she competed at the French International and Cottbus Cup meets in March. In May she competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships where she took the bronze medal in the all-around competition, silver on the vault and bronze on the uneven bars. She also competed in an International Apparatus Challenge against China where she took the gold medal.