KINGSTON, Jamaica — Having achieved most of what she set out to in a stellar career, Jamaica’s swimming star Alia Atkinson has called time on her Olympic journey, accepting the fate that a medal at the global multi-sport showpiece was not for her.
The five-time Olympian, who started her journey in 2004 at age 15, has almost single-handedly placed Jamaica on the world map of swimming but believes the time has come for her to pass on the baton to the next generation of swimmers.
Atkinson’s revelation came shortly after she delivered a season’s best performance of 1:07.70 minutes in Heat three of the 100-metre breaststroke, placing third and defeating some of the fastest swimmers representing 13 other countries in the process.
However, her time was below the qualifying threshold of 1:06.96 needed to advance to the semi-final, thus bringing the curtains down on what has been a truly remarkable Olympic run.
“It is funny looking back, the years went by so fast and before I realised it, I was looking at the end.
“My five-time Olympic journey ends here, but the Olympic medal is still waiting for some Jamaican girl or boy to claim it. I know you can, so keep pushing,” Atkinson said in an Instagram post.
Read: Atkinson misses out on spot in 100m breaststroke semis
The Fédération Internationale De Natation (FINA) has listed the barrier-breaking swimmer as one of its most decorated of all times, with outstanding achievements mainly in short-course competitions.
In those events, she won 140 medals in total for Jamaica, which includes 78 gold, 28 silver and 34 bronze, complemented by two short-course world records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and 19 national records.
After her swim at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games this morning, Atkinson, 32, said she was asked if she would give it all up for an Olympic medal to which she said no.
“Honestly I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything, all the ups and downs [have] made me who I am today, though at times it [felt] like there were more downs than ups, it taught me to get up and God taught me how to smile through it all,” she wrote.
Atkinson, the first black woman to win a world title in 2014 in Doha, Qatar, is aware that she is the guiding light of the sport for aspiring Olympic stars and left a word of encouragement.
“To the future Jamaican Olympic swimming medallists, I hope the road was/is less rocky for you. If so, then I have indeed succeeded. We have waited a long time for you, so thank you for staying true and carrying the flag high,” she said.
Atkinson’s best placing at an Olympic Games remains her fourth-place finish in London 2012, when she became the second Jamaican athlete to place in the top four in a swimming event at an Olympic Games, behind Janelle Atkinson (no relation) who was fourth in the 400m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Games.
