Sime was born on July 25, 1936, in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Evelyn and Charles Sime,[7] neither of whom graduated from high school.[8] He grew up in Fair Lawn and played football and baseball at Fair Lawn High School, but did not run track. He was a charter member of the Fair Lawn High School Athletics Hall of Fame.[9][8]
Sime was a member of Duke's baseball and track and field teams, and played football for a season in 1958 while a first-year medical school student.[1][8] His beginnings in track were accidental: his 100-yard dash on an unmowed grass surface in baseball shoes was a rapid 9.8 seconds, and the coaches soon asked him to join the track team. Opting not to play freshman football, he had gone out for fall track to stay in shape for baseball.[11] Sime hit over .400 as a freshman and had the intention continuing in baseball for coach Ace Parker, but his success during winter track changed that. Parker was a former multi-sport athlete and recognized the exceptional speed and Olympic potential; Sime focused on track in 1956, then split time between both sports in 1957.[12][13][14]
Sime achieved his greatest collegiate victory as a 19-year-old sophomore at the Drake Relays in April 1956, where he was named the meet's outstanding performer after setting a meet record in the 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds;[15] he handed Bobby Morrow of Abilene Christian his first loss in over thirty races in the 100, and was inducted into the Drake Relays Athlete Hall of Fame in 1959.[16] Sime was named the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1956 for his accomplishments in track and baseball. Prior to the Olympic trials, he and Morrow appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1956.[10][17]
Sime was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 29th round (341st overall) of the 1959 NFL draft, but he opted not to play football professionally and continued at medical school.
In 2010, Duke named him their most outstanding athlete of the 20th century.[10][18]
Olympics
Sime was unable to make the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne at age twenty due to a leg injury in his first attempt to ride a horse.[10][19] Four years later (and midway through medical school), he competed in Rome and won a silver medal in the 100 meters, edged out by Armin Hary of Germany in a photo finish.[5]
Sime anchored the U.S. to an apparent victory in the 4 × 100 m relay, posting a world record time of 39.4 seconds. The team was disqualified because at the first exchange from Budd to Norton, Norton started too early and the exchange happened outside the changeover box.[5][20] During his career, he held world records at 100 yards, 220 yards, and the 220 yd low hurdles.
During the Rome Olympics, Sime worked with the CIA trying to entice Soviet long-jumper Igor Ter-Ovanesyan to defect; the attempt failed.[21]
^ abc"Sime Has Great Day, Breaks World Record". The Miami News. Associated Press. May 6, 1956. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2011."The 190-pound Fair Lawn, N.J., sophomore, a hot prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, won the 100-yard dash in 9.4, his sixth such performance this year."
^Roberts, Jeff (April 25, 2010). "Intriguing People: Dave Sime". The Record. (Bergen County, New Jersey). Retrieved June 25, 2013. "This was the moment that changed everything for the Paterson-born, Fair Lawn-bred Sime."
^ abBill Hensley (February 18, 2011). "The Ballad of Dave Sime". Duke Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.