Miss Alia Atkinson, who announced her retirement from competitive swimming earlier this week after representing Jamaica with distinction for 21 years, holds our admiration for much more than her extraordinary talent and fighting spirit.

We believe that in contemporary sport, Miss Atkinson, a five-time Olympian, is second to none when it comes to humility, grace, charm, generosity of spirit, patriotism, and inspirational example.

By dint of performance, Miss Atkinson, recognised globally for her enchanting smile, consistently challenged the age-old theory that, because of body type, black people are less likely to do well in the pool compared to other racial groups.

In 2012 she stunned swimming experts by placing fourth — just missing out on the bronze medal — in the 100m breaststroke at the London Olympics.

At the Short Course World Championship at Doha, in 2014, Miss Atkinson became the first black woman to win a world title in swimming, taking the 100m breaststroke in record-equalling time.

Miss Atkinson made it a habit to come fighting back after disappointment and defeat, such as in 2016 when she placed last in the final of the 100m breaststroke.

She didn’t give up as many others would have, but instead pressed on to make 2016, in her words, her best “overall” and most consistent season.

In October of that year Miss Atkinson set a new world record in the 50m short course breaststroke, completing the event in 28.64 seconds at the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

And a month later, at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Canada, she won gold, silver, and bronze medals.

In her retirement message, after failing to medal at the recent FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, Miss Atkinson tells us that, while she had hoped for more, “I am happy to say I finished every ounce of swimming talent God gave me, the bottle empty. Many times I wanted to quit or give up, but I saw it through to the end.”

That determination and never-say-die attitude was captured by Ms Gillian Millwood, head coach of Y Speedos Swim Club, earlier this year: “You can never look at a swim that Alia has done and say that she didn’t do her best…”

Beyond her work in the pool, Miss Atkinson — who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology — has consistently sought to guide and inspire others.

A quality that came to the fore as she said farewell this week, seizing the opportunity to tell young swimmers to, among other things, “take nothing for granted and enjoy each step, both the good and the challenging…”

Among many accolades, Miss Atkinson holds is Jamaica’s Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) conferred in 2018 — an honour she described at the time as topping all others. And last month, The University of the West Indies, Mona, presented her with an honorary degree for outstanding achievements.

In hailing “Jamaica’s most outstanding swimmer” Minister of Sport Ms Olivia “Babsy” Grange voiced hope that, even after retirement, Miss Atkinson will continue to pass on her knowledge and experience to the young and aspiring.

Given what we know of Miss Atkinson, we believe the minister need not worry.