RUSSIA – Jamaican World record holder Alia Atkinson opened her 2017-2018 FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup Season with her 25th career win in the 50 metre breaststroke today in Moscow Russia.
After cruising to make the make the final with a time of 29.73 she would face long time rival and former World Record holder Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte.
In the final it would be the European who got the early advantage with a better reaction time to Alia 0.59 to 0.69, but as seen in the build up to her European cluster campaign Atkinson has developed her back end speed.
At the death it would be the fastest woman ever in the event Atkinson getting her hands to the wall first in a time of 29.46. Ruta won the Silver in 29.51. Russian Natalia Ivaneeva won the Bronze in a time of 29.87. Atkinson competed at eight of the nine World Cup stops last season and was undefeated in all eight of her 50 metre breaststroke races.
In her final race of the day Alia competed in a stacked final of the 100metre Individual Medley. The race would go to the World Record Holder in the event, the “Iron Lady” Katinka Hosszu of Hungary in a time of 57.02. Sweden’s World Record Holder in the 100scm Butterfly, Sarah Sjostrom won the Silver medal in 54.61 with former World Record Holder in the event, Australian, Emily Seebohm winning the Bronze in 58.63. Atkinson, the CCCAN and CARIFTA’s standard bearer in the event was fourth in a time of 59.55 coming from 8th at the halfway mark.
On Day Two Alia will again be in action in Two (2) Events; the 200 scm breaststroke and the 100 scm butterfly.
