Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team members Katie Grimes, from left, Bella Sims and Erica Sullivan with a signed USA Olympics flag at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team members Katie Grimes, Bella Sims and Erica Sullivan joke around during a show of strength where they train at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
(From left) Sandpipers of Nevada coach Ron Aitken shares a laugh during a press conference with Olympic swim team members Erica Sullivan, Bella Sims and Katie Grimes at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team member Erica Sullivan answers a media question at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
(From left) Sandpipers of Nevada coach Ron Aitken looks on during a press conference with Olympic swim team member Erica Sullivan as Bella Sims responds to a media question beside Katie Grimes at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team member Bella Sims answers a media question at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Olympic swim team members Erica Sullivan, Bella Sims and Katie Grimes receive a City of Las Vegas certificate of recognition from Councilwoman Victoria Seaman at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
(From left) Sandpipers of Nevada coach Ron Aitken shares a training regime during a press conference with Olympic swim team members Erica Sullivan, Bella Sims and Katie Grimes at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team member Katie Grimes, right, answers a media question beside teammates Bella Sims, center, and Erica Sullivan at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Sandpipers of Nevada Olympic swim team members Katie Grimes, Bella Sims and Erica Sullivan with a show of strength where they train at the Bodyline Swim Shop on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
The three female Olympic swimmers from Sandpipers of Nevada, a Las Vegas-based swimming club, met with the media Wednesday morning at the team’s Las Vegas office.
Katie Grimes, 15, qualified in the 800-meter freestyle last week at the U.S. Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, finishing second to Katie Ledecky. Grimes is the youngest American Olympic swimmer since Ledecky in 2012, who was 15 at the time.
Bella Sims, 16, will compete in the 800 free relay after finishing fifth in the 200 free. She is on the world stage despite not swimming until she just six years ago.
Erica Sullivan, 20, made the team in the 1,500, finishing second to Ledecky. Grimes was third but did not qualify for the Olympics in that event. Sullivan is a former open-water swimming champion who will compete for the University of Texas after the Olympics.
“I have been visualizing what it would feel like for a long time,” Sullivan said. “I think the fact that it’s actually happening, it’s weird when your dreams become a reality. I think we’re definitely learning how to cope with that.”
Another Sandpipers swimmer, Bowe Becker, made the Olympics in the 400 free relay after finishing fifth in the 100 free. After the trials, he returned to the University of Minnesota, where Becker was an All-American.
The swimming portion of the Olympics is July 24 to Aug. 1 in Tokyo.
