By: Tito Chapman
Jamaican swimmer, Alia Atkinson won the Women 100 SCM breaststroke gold medal at the World Swimming Champions in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday morning.
Previously, Alia won 100m titles in Doha in 2014 and Ontario in 2016.
Atkinson, who swam out of lane 4, led from the start and held on at the end to win in 1:03.51 ahead of the USA’s Katie Meili 1:03.63 and Australia’s Jessica Hansen 1:04.61.
With today’s victory Alia earned her second gold medal in Hangzhou. Her first gold medal came when she won the 50m breaststroke title on Wednesday, a day after celebrating her 30th birthday which made her one of the oldest swimmers at the competition.
Atkinson also won a bronze medal in the 100m medley on Friday.
The Jamaican swimming sensation has the distinction of being the first black woman to have won a world title; this feat was accomplished back in 2014, Alia set and continues to hold the world record of 1:02.36.
This year, Atkinson continued to make her mark; she owns the fastest time in the world this year – 1:02.80 – this was set in Budapest in October. Adding to her accomplishments, at the same meet, she lowered her own world record in the 50m swim – from 28.64 to 28.56.
