Jamaica's Alia Atkinson powering away from the field in her record-breaking swim in the women's 15-17 100-metre breastroke final at the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships at the National Stadium pool.
- Ian Allen photoSTARS IN the aquatics arena are few and far between, when we are talking about Jamaica.
However, Alia Atkinson has signalled her coming as one of those quickly rising stars with a remarkable performance at the recently concluded Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC).
Following in the footsteps of her older brother Adi Atkinson, the well-loved Janelle Atkinson, and Sion Brinn is no easy task as these athletes have proven themselves over a long period of time combined with thousands of hours of hard work.
Alia's impressive physique is testament to the fact that she too has learnt the value of hard work.
Starting her career at the age of three, Alia is often reminded of her first race when she stopped in the middle of the pool and began to cry, a fact which her mother, Sharon Atkinson, never fails to remind her, a fact which many times serves as a source of inspiration.
Since that time, young Alia has not turned back. Competing for the local Tornadoes Swim Club, she first made the CARIFTA team at age 11 and since that time making waves on the international scene has been a consistent feature of her presence at any meet.
Moving to the United States five years ago, she began swimming with the Fort Lauderdale Swim team for three years. She then went on to swim for the Comet Swim team in Pembroke Pines where she met her coach, Chris Anderson.
LOFTY PLANS
That liaison has allowed Alia to make some lofty plans, even though she is only 15 years old and not yet in sixth form at Flanagan High School in Florida.
"I am going to be trying to break into the top 100 swimmers in the world come next month. My long term goal, however, is to do very well in Beijing, China come 2008," she says of her Olympic dreams.
Already having very high points in her career, Alia most remembers making the Olympic qualification time last year in the 50 metres freestyle at the Pan-American Games.
She then added another high point when she closed her CISC performance earlier this week by breaking the national record in the 100 metres breastroke. That performance was made even more memorable after her time saw her qualifying for her second event at the Olympics in Athens, Greece next month.
Being awfully pleased with her growth in the sport she compares her achievements from year to year on a regular basis.
"Last year at CARIFTA I won all my events and I said to myself that I needed to do that here and I did, so I'm happy," said the talented teen.
Seen as a star in the eyes of her teammates, coaches and the fans of the sport, Alia has become comfortable with her popularity.
"If I become a star doing the thing I love the most then so be it, I'll be happy either way because I love to swim," she said.
Alia's family life has not been affected by her strenuous schedule as she is well supported by her parents, mom Sharon and Tweedsmuir Atkinson.
"My mother is with me at every meet that I swim and my father follows on the Internet, he's probably at home building me a trophy case," she joked.
Her social life is a different matter, however, as her constant movement from place to place in search of competition, and her hectic training schedule and academic requirements, means she has had to forego the pleasure of having many friends, a fact which she understands.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a social life. Since I'm overseas I miss my Jamaican friends but at least I get to see them once a year," she consoled herself.
This budding star admits having no idea what she intends to do with her life in the future, but one is sure that all of Jamaica needs no hint.
P.W.
