Alia Atkinson calls time on illustrious swimming career

(CMC) – Jamaican swimming star Alia Atkinson has announced her retirement, following her last race at the FINA 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships.

The world record holder and four-time world champion made the announcement on Instagram, indicating she was disappointed with her fourth-place finish in the women’s 100m breaststroke.

“Not the meet I hoped for but 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,” the 33-year-old wrote. “It’s been a rollercoaster of fun and not-so-fun moments… .”

Atkinson retires with two world records, in the women’s 50 breaststroke and the 100 breaststroke which she shares with Lithuanian Olympic Champion Ruta Meilutyte – a fact she highlighted in her Instagram post.

“That’s something I never thought would happen and this last race reminded just how remarkable my career was,” she said.

When she broke the record in 2014, the three-time Jamaica Sportswoman of the Year became the first black woman to win an individual world swimming title.

Atkinson had been racing internationally for Jamaica for nearly two decades and has competed at five straight Olympic Games from 2004, when she was just 15 years old, to 2021.

While she never landed on the Olympic podium, she collected numerous long course medals in breaststroke throughout her career. However, she has been most dominant in the short course breaststroke races, reflected in 10 podium finishes over the course of four championships.

Atkinson, in her social media message, thanked those that “supported me, cheered for me and followed me these past decades. It meant a lot”.