World Record Holder Alia Atkinson Announces Retirement From Swimming

World record holder and 4-time world champion Alia Atkinson has announced her retirement from the sport. Atkinson posted on Instagram to disclose the decision following her last race at the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships.

Following the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Atkinson hinted that her career would likely come to an end in 2021. She said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer:

“If you see me next year, then ask me what happened because that’s not the plan right now. I’m going to finish off the rest of the year as I have World Cups and ISL [International Swimming League] coming up, so we’ll see there, and then December we probably look at where I am in life.”

Atkinson stayed true to her word and raced as a member of the London Roar during the 3rd ISL season at capped her career off at the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships.

Long Course International Career

Atkinson has been racing internationally for Jamaica for nearly two decades and has competed at 5-straight Olympic Games from 2004 to 2021. At her first Games, Atkinson placed 32nd overall in the 100 breast and was 25th in the 200 breaststroke 4 years later in Beijing.

She had an Olympic breakthrough in 2012 when she just missed the 100 breaststroke podium in London, swimming a 1:06.93 for 4th. That was just under half a second slower than bronze medalist Satomi Suzuki who posted a 1:06.46.

Atkinson returned to the 100 breaststroke final in 2016 with an 8th place finish in the event at Rio and swam the prelims of the event at Tokyo 2020, finishing 22nd overall.

While Atkinson never managed to land on the podium at the Olympic Games, she has collected numerous long course medals in breaststroke throughout her career. Among those podium finishes include a 50 breast silver and 100 breast bronze at the 2015 World Championships. She also won 50 breaststroke silver at both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, 100 breast bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and a pair of Pan American Games silvers in the 200 IM (2011) and 100 breast (2015).

Short Course International Career

Atkinson has been most dominant, however, in the short course breaststroke races and will leave the sport as world record holder in both the 50 and 100 SCM breaststroke. Atkinson set the world record in the 50 breast for the first time in 2016 with a 28.64 to break Jessica Hardy’s 28.80 mark from 2009. She then lowered it again with a 28.56 in 2018, which is where it stands today.

Atkinson’s two world record swims from 2016 and 2018 remain the two fastest swims in the event on record. The closest anyone has gotten to her time since 2018 came in 2020 when Lilly King swam a 28.77 at the ISL final.

While she’s the sole holder of the 50 record, she shares the 100 breaststroke world record with Lithuanian Olympic Champion Ruta Meilutyte. Meilutyte broke the world record in 2013 with a 1:02.36 and Atkinson matched that time two years later at the 2014 World Swimming Championships. Two years after that, Atkinson swam the exact same time for a second time at a 2016 World Cup meet, meaning the 1:02.36 has been delivered a total of three times.

When she broke the record in 2014, Atkinson also became the first black woman to win an individual world swimming title.

Atkinson’s short course dominance is also reflected in her Short Course Worlds medal record, which consists of 10 podium finishes over the course of 4 Championships:

Alia Atkinson Short Course Worlds Medal Record

Gold

• 2014 – 100 breaststroke
• 2016 – 100 breaststroke
• 2018 – 50 breaststroke
• 2018 – 100 breaststroke

Silver

• 2012 – 50 breaststroke
• 2012 – 50 breaststroke
• 2014 – 50 breaststroke
• 2016 – 50 breaststroke

Bronze

• 2016 – 100 IM
• 2018 – 100 IM

Atkinson was close to adding two more medals to the list at the 2021 edition of the meet but didn’t reach the top 3 in either event. In the 50 breaststroke Atkinson swam a 29.55 during prelims but was subsequently disqualified during the semi-finals as one of 8 women to get DQed from that event. Atkinson’s prelims swim, had she repeated it in the final, would have been enough to tie Sophie Hansson for bronze.

In the 100 breaststroke, Atkinson did not get disqualified but missed the podium by 0.09 seconds. Atkinson finished 4th in the final with a 1:04.03, while Mona McSharry of Ireland swam a 1:03.92 for the bronze.

International Swimming League

Considering her short course prowess, Atkinson was a valuable swimmer in the International Swimming League. In her first season as a member of Iron, Atkinson won 3/3 of the 50 breaststrokes she competed in and placed 1st in 2 and 2nd in 1 of the 100 breaststrokes she raced.

In 2020 and 2021 Atkinson raced for London Roar and continued to be a dependable force for the team. She won the 50 breaststroke at match 2 and match 5, the 100 breast at match 2, match 5, and semi-final 1, and won the 50 breaststroke skins at match 5. She also picked up a number of top 3 finishes for the team and ended the season as the 21st ranked swimmer in MVP points.

In her third and final ISL season, Atkinson was once again a crucial component of London Roar’s success. She picked up wins in the 50 breast at matches 3, 8, and 9, playoff match 1, and the season final. In the 100 breaststroke, she had a nearly perfect record after winning the event at matches, 3, 8, and 9, and playoffs match 2 and 5.

She was the 25th-highest MVP points scorer in the final, 15th overall in the season, and 3rd ranked London Roar team member behind Duncan Scott (5th overall) and Emma McKeon (14th overall).

NCAA

Atkinson also had a successful 4-year collegiate career, having represented Texas A&M in the NCAA from 2006 – 2010. In her final year at Texas A&M, she became an NCAA Champion in the 200 breaststroke. Throughout her career as an Aggie, Atkinson received 19 All-American Honours and won 6 individual Big 12 titles and 4 relay titles.

Her best times in short course yards of 59.43 in the 100 and 2:06.99 in the 200 were both Texas A&M records at the time and both currently rank 6th in program history.

In honor of her NCAA career, Atkinson was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.