Atkinson in ISL final today
Published:Sunday | November 22, 2020 | 8:03 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Swimmer Alia Atkinson and her London Roar team are in action in the International Swimming League (ISL) Finals which start in Budapest, Hungary, today.
The two-day final which concludes tomorrow includes defending champions Energy Standard of France, the Cali Condors and the Los Angeles Current in a repeat of last season’s final held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Condors and the Current qualified for the final by placing in the top two in their semi-final match held on November 15 and 16. The Condors accumulated the most points (605.5) out of the four finalists in their respective semi-final encounters.
The 30-year-old short course world champion has used the tournament, which is in its second year, as her return to competition after an eight-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The upheaval caused by COVID-19 resulted in the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to next July, where she has already qualified for her fifth straight Olympic Games.
Atkinson did not advance to the championship final with her previous club, Team Ion, last season but has helped the London Roar this season to qualify for back-to-back finals with strong performances.
Atkinson is 19th in the season MVP standings, having accumulated 146.50 points for her team over the previous four regular season matches. She began the season with wins in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events in the first two matches for the Roar and subsequently recorded top-three finishes in her final two matches of the regular season. Additionally, she has proven to be an asset in other events, gaining crucial points in the 200m individual medley, 4x100m medley relay, and 50m butterfly events.
In the semi-finals, Atkinson swam the eighth fastest time in 100m breaststroke short course history, winning the event in 1:02:66 minutes, three-tenths shy of the world record that she equalled twice in 2014 and 2016 (1:02:36 minutes). She now holds seven of the 10 fastest times in that event and in that discipline.
The Roar had other strong performances this season as Atkinson’s teammates Adam Peaty of Great Britain and Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands set short course world records in the 100m breaststroke and the 50m backstroke, respectively.