Alia Atkinson made swimming history on Saturday by becoming the first black woman to win a world swimming title: the women’s 100 breaststroke at the world short-course championships in Doha, Qatar.
Atkinson, who swims for Jamaica, tied the world record with a time of 1 minute, 2.36 seconds, which, according to the standards of the international swimming governing body FINA, counts as its own record. Even Atkinson was surprised at her win.
http://youtu.be/ii5MteABZ44
http://youtu.be/ii5MteABZ44
“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,” Atkinson told Agence France-Presse after the race. “I just thought, ‘Oh, OK’ and looked up at the board, and it didn’t really click yet and then it really started to click. It took a while.”
The win was also Jamaica’s first gold in world swimming championships.
Atkinson hopes her win will inspire other women in the Caribbean to take up swimming as a sport. “Hopefully my face will come out, there will be more popularity, especially in Jamaica and the Caribbean, and we’ll see more of a rise, and hopefully in the future we will see a push,” she said, The Telegraph reported.
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
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Reblogged this on MrMilitantNegro™.
Woot!
Fastest runner in world from Jamaica, and now fastest female swimmer in world from Jamaica!
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
“Alia Atkinson made swimming history” ……