Atkinson sets national record at Short Course Champs
ALIA Atkinson smashed the national record twice to rush into the final of the women’s 50m breaststroke at the 11th FINA World Swimming (Short Course) Championships at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday.
The 24-year-old, three-time Olympian swam 29.72 seconds in the heats and lowered the mark to 29.62 seconds in the semi-final.
She erased her previous national mark of 29.87 seconds set last month at the Coupe Canada Cup in Etobiocoke, Ontario.
The star of the sprint breaststroke was, however, Lithuanian Rute Meilutyte, who twice broke the championship record of 29.58 seconds to 29.56 in the heats and 29.51 seconds in the semi-final.
American Jessica Hardy, who held the initial championship record, will be the third fastest swimmer going into today’s women’s 50m breaststroke final.
Atkinson finished sixth in the final of this event at the World Short Course championships in Dubai two years ago.
Before that, however, Jamaica’s swimming ace will do duties in the 100m individual medley where she will compete in heat six of seven.
Drawn in lane five, she will tussle with Hungarian Zuzsanna Jakabos to secure a place in the semi-final which will also be held later today.
Atkinson, who is also going for medal in the 100m medley, will have to contend with Hungarian Katinka Hosszu and German Theresa Michalak, who are in heat seven, in the final set for tomorrow.
Atkinson is also set to compete in the heats of the 100m breaststroke tomorrow and the 200m breaststroke on Sunday.
The World Short Course Swimming Championships began in 1993 and no Jamaican has ever won a medal.
Brad Hamilton, Angela Chuck, Jonathon Wong, and Victorio Ho are other Jamaican swimmers to have participated in the short course championships.
Also in action yesterday was Jamaica’s 16-year-old Timothy Wynter, who swam a personal best 55:55 seconds in the 100-metre backstroke which ranked him 43rd overall. He came back later in the day to swim the 100-metre butterfly with a time of 56:92 seconds. Timothy will compete again tomorrow in the 50-metre backstroke and 50-metre butterfly.
