Atkinson shines in Singapore

Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson had a masterful outing in the pool last weekend as the third meet of the FINA Swimming World Cup concluded from the OCBC Aquatic Centre in Singapore.

Following her 100m Breaststroke win last week in Jinan, China, Atkinson, booking her place in her fifth straight Olympic Games, delivered again, winning the event in Singapore on Friday in 1:07:35 seconds, edging out American Breeja Larson, who mustered a late push in the final few metres, winning by two tenths of a second. Vitalina Simonova of Russia finished third in a time of 1:09:33 seconds.

Atkinson has now won back-to-back 100m Breaststroke events on the circuit.

The Jamaican star said that she was unbothered by Larson’s drive to the wall and instead focused on trying to better her time.

“I was really only thinking of going 1:06, but in the last six strokes, everything shut down,” Atkinson said after the event.

Challenge

Her great form continued in the 50m Breaststroke yesterday, where she again battled with Larson to the wall. The 30-year-old Atkinson again managed to see off the American’s challenge and took her third straight win in the event in a time of 30:31 seconds, with Larson finishing second in 30.98 and China’s Ran Suo claiming bronze in 31.13 seconds. Atkinson’s time was five-hundredths of a second off her World Cup record set in 2015.

Although she was happy with the victory, Atkinson noted that she was not satisfied with her execution.

“I was trying to get some points, so I’m happy for that,” she shared. “But technique-wise, I’m not. The last five metres, I didn’t stay as elongated as I wanted to be, and I was short coming into the wall.”

With her wins in Singapore, Atkinson increased her total medal tally to five on the circuit as she continues her preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She has previously expressed that she is unsure about whether she will compete in the next meet in October in Budapest.