ALIA Atkinson came up short in the women’s 100m individual medley final yesterday at the 11th FINA World Swimming (Short Course) Championships at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey.

Despite breaking the national record twice, 24-year-old Atkinson finished fourth in a personal best 58.85 seconds.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu won in a championship record 58.49 seconds, her second gold and meet record of the competition. Lithuania’s 15-year-old sensation Ruta Meilutyte took the silver in 58.79 seconds, ahead of China’s Zhao Jing, who grabbed bronze in 58.80 seconds.

In the 100m breaststroke, meanwhile, Atkinson was not in cracking form as she was in her two previous events.

She swam 1:05.26 for fifth overall in the heats and lowered it to 1:04.99 for third overall in the semi-finals.

Denmark’s Rikke Moeller Pedersen clocked 1:04.11 to become the top seed with Meilutyte second in 1:04.81.

A three-time Olympian, Atkinson has a personal best 1:04.69 in the 100m breaststroke. The final of this event will take place today at 12:00 noon (Jamaican time).

The other Jamaican competing in the World Short Course Championships, 16-year-old Timothy Wynter, placed 64th overall in the heats of the men’s 50m butterfly and 42nd in the heats of 50m backstroke.

He swam 25.74 in the fly where Brazilian Nicholas Santos appeared set for gold after topping the semi-finals in a meet record 22.23 seconds.

In sprint backstroke, Wynter timed 25.98 seconds. Russian Stanislav Donets and Australian Robert Hurley are battling for supremacy in the event after posting identical 23.14 seconds in the semi-finals.

Donets holds the championship record of 22.93 seconds set in Dubai two years ago.

The five-day championships will end tomorrow, with Atkinson taking her place in the 200m breaststroke. She will compete in heat three of five with a seed time of 2:26.37, the seventh best in the line-up.

However, Atkinson’s personal best in the 200 breast is 2:21.65 set two years ago in Dubai.