Jamaica’s sensation Alia Atkinson completed another historic feat when she won bronze in the 100-metre breaststroke final on day three of the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, yesterday.

The 26-year-old stopped the clock at 1:06:42 minutes, behind rivals, Yulia Efimova (1:05.66) of Russia and Lithuanian world and championship record holder, Ruta Meilutyth (1:06.36), to capture the country’s first medal in the history of the world long course swimming championship.

Ironically, the final places would have been justified as Atkinson had earlier set a new national record of 1:06:21 minutes in qualifying for the finals with the third fastest time behind Efimova (1:05:60) and Meilutyth (1:05.64).

The event was one of the most anticipated final of the day, with home girl Efimova carrying the hopes of garnering Russia’s first gold medal in the swimming events. It was Meilutyth, the Olympic champion, who dictated terms from lane five with a very fast first 50 metres.

But, Efimova riding on the waves of the supporters, made a fantastic recovery in the second half of the race and decisively accelerated for the victory, leaving the Lithuanian to barely hang on for the silver, as she was a mere six hundredths of a seconds ahead of Atkinson.

Atkinson, has been one of the best in this event in the last couple of years, a position which she justified by being the first black woman to win a world swimming title when she triumphed in the 100m breaststroke at the world short-course championships late last year.

She claimed the title and equalled Meilutyte’s world record of 1:02.36 in the process — although under governing body FINA rules this still equates to a new record.

Atkinson, who was ninth two years ago in Barcelona, has now established a rich swimming legacy by winning a medal at every major competition, except the Olympics, a feat she will be hoping to achieve in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next year.

For Efimova, this was her ninth medal at this level since 2009. In Barcelona 2013, she had visited the podium on three occasions, all in breaststroke events. With her latest success in Kazan, she is the only swimmer in the Worlds’ history to have won gold medals in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke.