ATKINSON Alia

General
EARLY DAYS
She began focusing on breaststroke at age 13. "I actually was a butterflyer and a freestyler but when I was 13, the breaststroke just clicked and I thought, 'Oh, I understand this stroke now.' And that was it. The most challenging part is that if one thing is off, it throws everything off. If your kick is off, then your head position is off, your arms are going too much, and now you look like a chicken popping up in the water. I can fake a freestyle and a 'fly - just attack the water and keep the tempo. But when you fake the breaststroke, you're actually doing more strokes and you're not getting anywhere. You have to be patient with it. You have to have the flow." (fina.org, 20 Nov 2018)

FROM JAMAICA TO FLORIDA
Her family moved from Jamaica to Florida, United States of America, when she was age 12. She swam for Fort Lauderdale Swim team and Comet Swim team in Pembroke Pines where she first met coach Chris Anderson. She also swam for Flanagan High School in Florida which resulted in the award of a full swimming scholarship from the Texas A&M University. "It was a new experience and a new environment. I missed my friends [in Jamaica], especially those from school. However, I was also excited at the prospect of new opportunities." (fina.org, 20 Nov 2018; buzzzmagazine.com, 01 Jan 2015)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has run the Watabound initiative since 2017, a platform to promote swimming in developing countries. She also conducts swim clinics in Jamaica. (rjrnewsonline.com, 03 Jul 2019; Watabound Instagram profile, 25 Jun 2019; stluciastar.com, 04 May 2019; Jamaica Gleaner, 11 Aug 2018; LinkedIn profile, 2018)

In 2010 she became the first female Jamaican swimmer to compete in a final at the world championships, finishing in sixth place in the 50m breaststroke at that year's World Short Course Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She also became the first Jamaican swimmer to win a medal at the world championships when she took silver in the 50m breaststroke at the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2014 she became the first Jamaican swimmer to win a gold medal at the world short course championships when she triumphed in the 100m breaststroke at the 2014 edition in Doha, Qatar. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Dec 2018; bbc.co.uk, 07 Dec 2014; jamaica-gleaner.com, 14 Dec 2012, 19 Oct 2011; jis.gov.jm, 31 Jul 2011)