Alia Atkinson rebounds from embarrassing Olympic performance
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Alia Atkinson described her performance at the last Olympics as “embarrassing” and said it drove her to success during the just-concluded World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada.
Atkinson, a strong prerace contender, failed in her bid to win a medal at the Olympics in Rio, Brazil, finishing last in the final of the women’s 100 breaststroke.
“I had all eyes on me (at the Olympics),” she said. “Track & field and all the other sports were interested. Jamaica was finally interested in swimming. The World was finally looking to see what Alia Atkinson could do, and I think it was more of an embarrassment why I didn’t want to come out and speak about it (at the time) because I didn’t know why yet,” said Atkinson at a luncheon in her honour on Wednesday here.
Atkinson, who celebrated her 28th birthday last Sunday, rebounded at the World Short Course Championships however. She gave herself an early birthday gift, when she won a medal of every colour including gold in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1 minute, 03.03 seconds, defending the title she won two years earlier in Doha, Qatar.
“I wasn’t happy with the Olympic final and I think everybody could see that, but I wanted to show the World that I am better than that and to prove to myself that I am better than that as well,” said Atkinson.
“I wanted to show Jamaica that what I do on the World scene is not a one-time thing or a luck thing, so I wanted to get as much of a chance as I could to prove that I could keep on doing it.”
Atkinson’s breaststroke victory made her the first woman to defend the 100m title and ties her with Jade Edmistone of Australia as the only woman to win three medals in the event at the World Championships.
“There have been ups and down,” she said philosophically. “Life is a fight and we can’t give up because life throws you a curveball when you are expecting a straight one.
“I want to build up swimming for people of colour, and for Jamaica. I want to build up children’s characters and teach them that they must try to excel and not just to give up.”
Atkinson also extended her record as the most decorated female swimmer from the Caribbean, now holding seven medals at the World Short Course Championships.