Despite having a small contingent in Paris, Jamaica had representation in swimming for the eighth-consecutive Olympic Games, thanks to debutants Sabrina Lyn and Josh Kirlew. However, national swim legend Alia Atkinson isn’t satisfied with just sending two athletes; she says Jamaica could achieve greater success at future Olympics with greater investment in the sport.

Lyn, 20, became the sixth woman in Jamaica’s history to compete in swimming at the summer Games as she finished fifth in the heats of the 50m freestyle. Kirlew, 24, was born in Britain and was Jamaica’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony. He also had a fifth-place finish in his 100m butterfly heat.

In the country’s 12 appearances in swimming at the Olympics, Jamaica have sent a maximum of four representatives in 1984 and 2004. In fact, out of the 16 national swimmers, only Alia Atkinson, Janelle Atkinson, Angela Chuck, and Jevon Atkinson have gone to multiple Olympics.

World record holder Atkinson, who retired after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, says the country has what it takes to be competitive at the summer Games but greater support from the Government and private sector is needed.

“It’s all about the long haul and I don’t know how to stress and put it as a priority to say, ‘Yes, aquatics is a fantastic sport but we need to invest more if we want to see it grow and we want our athletes to achieve their goals’,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“Janelle Atkinson reached the final in the 2000 Olympics and it wasn’t until 2012 that I reached the final even though I was going from 2004, so it showed a good 12 years. If we follow that trend, we’re looking at 2028 but in order to get athletes there, we need to start developing them. Sabrina and Josh are just getting their feet wet. Can we develop them for another four years so they can succeed in 2028? And the ones that were close to making this Olympics, can we also invest in them so we can have more than two athletes in 2028?”

Atkinson won global medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games but narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke in London 2012 and made the final again in 2016. She says she’s set an example to follow but says it is futile if the future athletes aren’t prioritised.

“How much do we develop in the country when there’s no medals coming back,” she asked. “How much are we going to invest until we see the medals coming in? I think that’s a big part of it.

“For me, I wanted to make sure I was bringing in medals. I was seeing that, ‘Yes, your support, your sponsorship, everything it’s fruitful’. However, now that I’m finished, it’s going to take a little time to continue. Yes, we’ve had great representation at CAC (Central American and Caribbean Games), CCCAN (Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships) and the Pan American Games, but it’s still few and many, so there’s many competitions but there’s few that’s going to reach up and reach those medals. So my main thing is how can we develop and invest in these athletes so they can get that medal whatever competition they can go to and be their best.”

Atkinson, who chairs World Aquatics Athletes Committee, says other Caribbean countries have created a blueprint which Jamaica should follow.

“I was in Bahamas announcing for the Carifta Games and the amount of work they’ve put into their development programmes, their learn to swim programmes and reaching out to corporate sponsors and international celebrities who have a house in Bahamas and say, ‘Look, this is what we need. You’re fond of our beaches? Great. But what about the aquatic realm’ and they tie it all altogether and create a nice little package,” she said.

“Track and field is the top of the top but for the rest of the sports, we need to start looking at what’s worked in other countries. Trinidad is on the rise, Aruba as well as Bahamas, and we’ve seen that change by just the federation and the Government worked together to build that change.”

Atkinson says a change in mindset will help to nurture the raw talent across the island.

“It starts with Learn To Swim programmes,” she said. “It starts with building it up, having safety in water and safety in numbers. Then it should transition into a love for the sport — whether they continue or not — and hopefully we’ll start to have more interest. I can’t tell you how many times I see people jump off the waterfalls and say, ‘You’re good, I can see you at the Olympics!’ But we don’t train that talent and don’t captivate it because what is the future? Hardship? That can’t be the case.”