Wasilla boys earn gold, bronze

MAT-SU - Two boys from Wasilla recently battled for medals at the Junior Olympics and the Pan American Games in Orlando Fla.

Joz Sims, 14, who competed in kumite, a form of contact karate, advanced to the Pan American Games after medaling at the 2000 Junior Olympics. His brother Mike Sims, 10, also medaled in the Junior Olympics.

In kumite, combatants try to accumulate as many points as possible in two minutes. On Nov. 30, Joz struck gold by defeating three other Junior Olympians in front of thousands of fans inside Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.

Being evaluated by five judges for each match was, at first, a little daunting.

"There were so many rings," Joz said. "I was kind of intimidated."

Joz, who is a karate green belt, calmed down enough to defeat his first opponent 7-6.

"I learned not to be intimidated," he said. "I relaxed when I go into the ring."

He won his next two matches 8-0 and 6-4, respectively, launching Joz onto the gold medal Junior Olympic platform and into the Pan American Games on the next day.

While officials were hanging gold around Joz' neck in one ring, his brother, Mike, was accepting the bronze for his blue belt achievements on another.

Mike would have done better, but his competitors took advantage of a broken toe he suffered in an earlier round.

"They saw his broken toe and kept going at it," Mike's mother, Janni, said. "He has a high threshold for pain."

Joz tried to keep an easy temperament when other socializing with international athletes.

"What's really fun is to be telling jokes and laughing with them," Joz said. "Then get into the ring with them and look like you're going to cream them."

Joz handily won his first Pan Am contest 8-0, which advanced him to the gold medal round, but the Judges disqualified Joz for hitting too hard.

"When I punched him, he flew back and fell on his butt," Joz said of his disqualification. "The whole match he was crying. [I guess] the judges gave him a little more leniency."

Photo: Joz and Mike Sims show off their medals.

Submitted photo.