Background
Born on July 25, 1936 in Paterson, New Jersey, Sime grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where he attended Fair Lawn High School.
Born on July 25, 1936 in Paterson, New Jersey, Sime grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where he attended Fair Lawn High School.
He ranked as one of the fastest humans of all time, holding several sprint records during the late 1950s. 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
His beginnings in track were accidental. His 100-yard dash on an unmowed grass surface was a rapid 9.8 seconds, and the coaches soon asked him to join the track team
He would later be inducted into the Drake Relays Athlete Hall of Fame in 1959.
He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1956 as a sprinter. After college, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 29th round (341st overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft, but he opted not to join the NFL, instead choosing to go to the School of Medicine.
In 2010, Duke named him their most outstanding athlete of the 20th century. He died of cancer in 2016.
Unable to make the 1956 in Melbourne due to a leg injury in his first attempt to ride a horse, Sime did compete in Rome four years later, and was second to Armin Hary in the Olympic 100 m.
He anchored the United States. to an apparent victory in the 4×100 m relay. However, the United States. 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 yards, 220 yards, and the 220 yd low hurdles.
Central Intelligence Agency mission
On the eve of the Rome, Sime was approached by the Central Intelligence Agency and recruited to help secure the defection of Soviet athlete Igor Ter-Ovanesyan.
Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a Central Intelligence Agency agent in Rome, but that agent"s manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect. Graduating in the top 10% of his class at the School of Medicine, Sime never played sports professionally, instead becoming an ophthalmologist in Florida, where he was a pioneer in intraocular lens transplants.
Sime"s eldest child, daughter Sherrie, went to the University of Virginia, where she was the school"s top-ranked singles tennis player. Sime"s youngest child, daughter Lisa, would go on to Stanford University, where she was a standout soccer player.
Sime was a member of Duke"s baseball, football, and track and field teams.