The Distinguished

20 / 64

Keisha Hill
Senior Gleaner Writer
IN A sport predominantly
considered minor compared to
football and track and field in
Jamaica, swimming has finally
been given the recognition it
deserves with Alia Atkinson
becoming the first black woman
and Jamaican to earn a world
title.
In December 2014,
Atkinson clocked a
tremendous 1.02.36 – the
Texas A&M alumna tied
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte’s
world record in the 100
breaststroke at the FINA
Short Course World
Championships in Doha,
Qatar. In doing so,
Atkinson promoted the
sport in Jamaica, across the
Caribbean, and in other
countries. It was Jamaica’s
first gold medal for
swimming at the World
Championships.
“Representing my
country is the most
important thing for me at
this moment. Not only does
it help bring about change,
but hopefully we can see many
more swimmers coming out of
Jamaica in the future. I wish to
help bring out a smoother
transition for the future
generation,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson, who competed in her
first Olympics at just 16 years old,
competed in her fourth Olympic
Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
She took eighth-place in the 100-
metre breaststroke
final and finished with a time of
1.08.10.
Atkinson takes her role in
Jamaican swimming very seriously.
“I am fuelled to keep reaching new
heights. I know there is still some
more left in me and I want to make
sure that when I do retire, Jamaican
swimming has a great foundation to
move forward, and that I have no
regrets,” she said.
2004 OLYMPIC GAMES
One of Atkinson’s first major
international championships was at
the 2004 Olympic Games in
Athens. At just 15 years old,
Atkinson didn’t qualify for a semi-
final or championship, however.
Four years later, she was once again
selected to Jamaica’s Olympic team
in 2008, this time for the 200-metre
breaststroke. She finished 25th
overall in 2008, making the Beijing
Olympics her most successful
Games.
In 2012, with two Olympic
Games under her belt, Atkinson
focused on the 100-metre
breaststroke. Coming out of the
semi-finals, she was tied
for eighth with
Canadian Tera Van Beilen. The two
had a swim-off in which Atkinson
took second spot in the
championship. In the outside lane,
Atkinson had an impressive swim
where she just missed the medal
podium with a fourth-place finish.
Among the highlights for
Atkinson in 2017 were three gold
medals at the FINA Swimming
World Cup in Germany. These golds
came in the women’s 50m, 100m
and 200m breaststroke events.
Atkinson also broke the 100-
metre freestyle national record at
the Florida Gold Coast Senior
Championships in Coral Spring last
July by winning the event in 55.35
seconds, just three weeks after she
became the first Jamaican woman to
swim the 100-metre butterfly in
under a minute.
Atkinson ended the year ranked
number one for short course for
both the 50m and 100m
breaststroke events and number four
for the 200m breaststroke.
“It gives me a sense of
accomplishment to know I have
made the road smoother. I say that a
lot, but it really is hard when you
are alone on the world stage and I
sincerely wish the future generation
does not have to go through any
misfortune,” Atkinson said.
20 THE GLEANER’S FLAIR MAGAZINE • MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
Distinguished
THE
Sports
Alia Atkinson
Making golden strokes