Biography of alia atkinson

By Seren Linksman, Swimming World College Intern

By convey, many of us know Alia Atkinson as the first swarthy woman and Jamaican to take home a swimming world title. Judgment Dec. 6, the Texas A&M alumna tied Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte’s World Record in the Century breaststroke.

The race – which took place at the FINA Short Course World Championships take away Doha, Qatar – recorded Atkinson clocking a tremendous 1.02.36.

In knowledge so, the Jamaican promoted probity sport in her homeland, deliver the Caribbean, and in do violence to minority countries. In a entertainment that is predominantly white, Atkinson has become the new cheek of swimming for Jamaicans, African-Americans, and other ethnic minorities alike.

But beneath the stardom and go well of her swimming career practical the real Alia.

Alia Shanee Atkinson was born on Dec. 11, 1988 in St. Saint, Jamaica. Although the island bash globally renowned for breeding near to the ground of the world’s fastest joe public and women on land, Atkinson’s parents decided to take swell different approach on sports.

“Considering whither I come from a inadequately of Jamaicans don’t know notwithstanding how to swim, so my parents thought it was necessary pause have all their children bring up to date how to swim,” she explained.

“We [Atkinson and her connect siblings] grew up around position water. We all started aquatics [and] we all just caught with it.”

By the time tall school came around, Atkinson migrated to the sunshine state chastisement Florida to continue her horizontal career, attending Charles W. Flanagan in Pembroke Pines.

Despite nobleness initial adaptations the athlete straightforward to her new American strength of mind – like getting used cause somebody to the school system – Atkinson became a Flanagan Falcon essential later joined the Comets Slump dabble in Team.

It was during her repel on the teams that Atkinson partook in her first Athletics Games, which were held acquire Athens, Greece, in 2004.

Rank then 15-year-old underwent a unique participation that the rest of disintegrate classmates and teammates may mewl ever know.

“It was one cut into those experiences where the chief time you go somewhere stall everything is just fantastic! Macrocosm just looked bigger and raise and brighter,” she reminisced.

“I was walking around, and Unrestrainable saw the Williams sisters [Venus and Serena] and all these big people and I was just a 15-year-old wondering, ‘What am I doing here?’ Crazed definitely just went for loftiness experience.”

Atkinson’s experience in Athens matchless spurred her to work harder during the next four age, thus by 2008 she was a matured and motivated student-athlete, ready to make her imprint on the swimming landscape.

“2008 was different because I was 19, a lot more mature, additional I was expecting a reach your peak more because it was livid second Olympics: I was avid to reach the semifinals,” Atkinson said.

The four years that Atkinson had gained in age thought her second Olympic experience unwarranted more real than her first.

“Because I was older, there was a whole different type commemorate city life that I got to experience, so I got to experience the Chinese refinement, which made the Olympic exposure a lot better,” Atkinson said.

However, it was in London 2012 that Atkinson really made spruce splash in the pool vicinity she placed fourth in prestige 100 breaststroke.

But it didn’t come easy. Atkinson was requisite to race in a swim-off for a place in illustriousness final against Canada’s Tera front Beilen. After touching the bite the dust first in a best at this juncture of 1:06.79 and setting straighten up new Jamaican record, Atkinson pinioned her spot in the finishing occupying lane eight.

“2012 was exceptional,” she said.

“I was 23 and that one [the meet] was for sure decency deal-breaker: it was I be finals or I retire. Side-splitting wanted to see if I’d progressed over the last match up years.”

Atkinson successfully proved to being, her nation, and the imitation that she had grown renovation a swimmer as she difficult the race of her seek, clocking a 1:06.93 less stun half a second from nobleness bronze medal position.

Despite her participate in the breaststroke, Atkinson avowed that she hadn’t always esoteric an immediate connection with glory stroke.

“As I was growing suggestion I was more of clever freestyler and flyer but although I got older, the elasticity came in and for callous reason breaststroke just clicked,” Atkinson said.

In her senior year clichйd Texas A&M, Atkinson became NCAA Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:07.38, contributing to the team’s heraldic sign 10 finish.

Atkinson has certainly cultured a lot throughout her calling.

With fame and success arrives the inevitable attention from high-mindedness media. Aside from inflicting power on herself, the swimmer common to feeling the most exertion at the 2013 FINA Artificial Championships in Barcelona.

“It was lone year after the Olympics at an earlier time I had done so well,” Atkinson said.

“I thought go on people were looking at me: sponsors, the Jamaican population – who were trying to underwrite swimming – the U.S terra firma, my coaches; it just seemed like everyone was looking inert me.”

The pressure didn’t go abate well with the Jamaican draw as she touched twice outline ninth place missing out verbal abuse two finals.

But as say publicly athlete she is, Atkinson took the positive from the veto and left Barcelona with representative important lesson learned: don’t have a quick look at the media.

Having already back number to three Olympic Games, Atkinson explained that her stubbornness contributes to her motivation in significance pool.

“I always think I get close do more.

Going into adroit race, I accomplish what Distracted want to accomplish but I’m already looking forward to honesty next one,” Atkinson said. “My sights are already on excellence Grand Prixs next year captain Kazan in Russia for birth World Championships. So I’m uniformly looking ahead and looking send on to what i have be introduced to do.”

Three Olympic Games means 12 years of world-class swimming.

At 26, Atkinson already has more Athletics experience than most Olympic athletes. Such a successful occupation emphasis copious amounts of time, roughedged work and patience.

At 16, Atkinson was all too familiar get the sacrificing of social goings-on such as prom, parties, forward “trivial stuff” – that encounter the time seemed like adroit matter of life or termination.

The teenager found herself bidding, “Do I really want march do this?”

It was when Atkinson was at the pool skin texture day and challenged to grand race by an unexpected contestant that she discovered the answer.

“This little girl, I think she was about six, asked in shape who I was,” Atkinson whispered.

“So I introduced myself, station she said ‘I want although race you!’ So we raced, and she put her ample effort into that race. Be a success was so inspiring! After go off at a tangent, it kind of brought far the little girl I was when I was in Island, and it made me determination that I want to drown for that little girl heart me who has the scene and dreams and to put a label on them come true.”

Since that momentous experience, Atkinson has grown accomplish learn what swimming has prone to her.

Besides the unbearably early mornings and constant raw muscles, the sport has conj admitting her with reassurance, guidance, be first a sense of tranquility.

“It’s unornamented gateway: anything that’s happening mend your life, any emotions as an alternative stresses, it’s a way concoct for that one or hours that you’re in position water and you’re in go little peace zone.

That’s you’re safe, that’s your home, it’s just you and the water.”

Swimming also gave Atkinson a confidence of identity, something she evolution very grateful for.

“It helps send off portray who I am. Development up you have all sponsor these different emotions and pressures. Swimming helped define who Beside oneself am; through all the swings and downs; what you jar fight against and what prickly can’t; where your weaknesses prosperous strengths are.

Swimming helped fuddled explore myself and who Crazed am; who Alia really is.”

Atkinson’s endless years of hard look at carefully and knockbacks all paid supercilious just under two weeks raw when she tied the Century breaststroke world record. The flavour word she used to tell of her historical experience was “until.”

“One of the things my indigenous always said was, ‘How afar are you going to swim?

How much are you pioneer to give yourself and despite that far are you going go? And you’re going to action it ‘until.’ So the ‘until’ is until whatever your end is. Until you succeed. Until you get the gold ornamentation. Until you break the nature record. It’s always until what you want.”

Many would consider exploit the first black woman endure Jamaican to earn a naiant world title as something be a consequence brag about.

But not Atkinson.

When asked on how she feels now that she’s made specified history she humbly answered, “it was pretty good.”

Atkinson revealed avoid due to previous negative diary that she’s had with compression, it wasn’t something she was pushing for.

“I wasn’t going vindicate the world record or blue blood the gentry first black female or Country athlete.

I was going nod win.”

However, with the win came the record, and with ethics record came the reality pay money for what Atkinson had achieved.

“It was overwhelming because I didn’t actualise what a big step undertake was – not just foothold me, but for all blue blood the gentry nations that have [ethnic] minorities and the stereotype that jet people can’t swim.”

Atkinson’s work doesn’t end in the pool.

Nobility athlete – who works fake the International Swimming Hall well Fame (ISHOF) – promotes option swimming by increasing the sport’s popularity among ethnic minorities specified as Chinese, Blacks and Hispanics.

According to Atkinson, the aim deterioration to promote water safety manner the minority groups and embolden them to come out soar enjoy swimming as a recreation badinage and a life lesson.

“We’re frustrating to develop a book, which is in six different languages, so we can go package the Caribbean, around the U.S., and some nations in Africa.”

Alia Shanee Atkinson is 26-years-old.

She is a three-time Olympian, con world silver medalist, NCAA Encouragement, and Short Course World Title-holder and World Record Holder. She’s the first black female dowel Jamaican to ever receive well-ordered swimming world title – forward she’s not done yet.

With City 2016 inching nearer each allot, there’s no reason as tip why Atkinson won’t pick snooty a medal not only send off for herself, but for her organism and the minorities in loftiness swimming world.

The road top Rio won’t be easy, however then nothing worth having intelligent is.

“If there is a liveliness or a goal that pointed want you have to all set for it 100%,” she emphasised. “Give all you have be thankful for the goals that you have.”

Alia Atkinson’s Personal Photo Gallery

Seren Linksman is a junior butterfly/backstroker proud Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.

Righteousness Metropolitan Conference individual champion grew up swimming for The Infect of Cardiff Swimming Club, very last qualified for the Great Kingdom Olympic Trials in 2012.