Game Changer: Alia Atkinson

Alia Atkinson has made history. 25 year old Alia is the first black woman to win a World Swimming Title. Alia broke the record at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Doha, Qatar in 1 minute and 2.36 seconds for the 100m breaststroke. This is Jamaica’s first-ever gold at the World Short Course Championships.

“I couldn’t believe it! It came down to the same thing as the 50 and on the 50 I got out-touched so in my mind I went straight back to that. “I just thought ‘oh okay’ and looked up at the board and it didn’t really click yet and then it really started to click. It took a while!”

Alia Atkinson competed in both the 2004 and the 2008 Olympics where she finished 25th in the Women’s 200 breaststroke. Alia also competed in the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games. She carried the flag for Jamaica at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.