Atkinson helps Roar into ISL finals
Published:Monday | November 16, 2020 | 12:12 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Swimmer Alia Atkinson produced the eighth fastest time in the history of the 100m breaststroke short course (25m pool) format as she helped her International Swimming League (ISL) team, the London Roar, to advance to the final in Budapest, Hungary.
Atkinson, 31 years old, was one of the highlights of this weekend’s first ISL semi-final, winning the event in a time of 1:02:66 minutes, three-tenths shy of the world record (1:02:36 minutes) that she twice equalled in 2014 and 2016. The win earned her maximum points for the Roar, which helped them secure their second straight berth in the ISL finals as one of the top two qualifiers from the four-team semi-final.
Defending champions Energy Standard have also qualified for the final after winning the two-day semi-final with 580 points. The Roar placed second with 517.5 points while the seasons of the Tokyo Frog Kings and the New York Breakers ended as they placed third and fourth,respectively.
In an episode of the London Roar podcast on November 2, Atkinson said that she felt that her current form was identical to where she was with her previous club, Team Ion, and was targeting improvements with her times after seven months of inactivity because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m actually around where I was last year for the first ISL, so I’m pretty happy,” Atkinson said. “As the meets continue, I know that we are going to get better. I know the times are going to get a little bit faster as well with the turns, just getting used to short course metres again. So I think for me, at least I’m hoping that it will get faster and, hopefully, a little bit closer to my best times.”
The win at the weekend means that the reigning world 100m breaststroke short-course champion now holds seven of the 10 fastest times in the discipline. Lithuania’s Rūta Meilutytė, who set the previous record in 2013, holds the remaining times.
Atkinson is 19th overall in the season MVP race with 146.50 points, after top-three finishes in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, and 4x100m medley relay events.
The final two qualifiers for the final on November 21-22 will be decided when the second semi-final concludes today. The four teams still in the championship hunt are the Cali Condors, Toronto Titans, Los Angeles Current, and Team Ion.