Record-breaking Alia Atkinson dominates at Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

By Sports Desk March 25, 2021

Olympian Alia Atkinson continued in her fantastic form at the 2021 Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships held from March 19-21 in Florida.

Competing for South Florida Aquatics, Atkinson was at her imperious best winning all three of her individual events to make it 13 victories from 14 starts in 2021.

Her compatriots, Morgan Cogle of Jupiter Dragons and Simone Vale of Pine Crest Swimming, also competed at the meet with creditable results

What was outstanding about Atkinson’s swims, was the manner in which she achieved victory.

In the 100-yard freestyle, she broke ground for herself and Jamaican swimming breaking the national record in the event.

After cruising to the final as the top seed by virtue of her 50.72 in the preliminary round, she unleashed in the final, taking the first 50 yards in 23.50. She eventually stopped the clock 48.81 winning by more than two seconds.

She also lowered her previous personal best of 49.64 while breaking the previous record of 49.08 that was set by compatriot, former club teammate and fellow Olympian and friend Natasha Moodie.

The time also made Atkinson the first Jamaican woman to swim under 49 seconds in the event.

As it turns out, Atkinson was only just warming up.

In the 100-yard butterfly, Atkinson lowered her own pool record and Jamaican best of 52.62 to win in 52.01 while showing the field a clean pair of heels winning by almost three seconds.

She would go on to win the 100-yard breaststroke final by more than three seconds stopping the clock in 58.92 (split time 27.26). The win represented the 10th fastest time of her career and the best she has registered since 2019.

There would be more trips to top of the podium after splitting 50 yards in 28.09 to propel South Florida Aquatics to victory in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:46.71.

Cogle swam the opening backstroke leg in 28.47 for her team to finish in 1:51.30.

In the 200 yard freestyle, the results would be golden for Cogle and her Jupiter Dragons. She split 24.09 to give her team the lead after her second leg.

Atkinson erased that lead with her third leg split of 23.04. However, the Dragons had too much firepower on the last leg and came back to win 1:37.41 to SFA’s 1:37.59.

Meanwhile, Cogle continued to achieve personal milestones, the best of which came in the 100-yard backstroke.

Heading to the senior championships, she held had a personal best time of 1:00.30 in the 100-yard backstroke. She blew that time out of the water clocking 58.89, bettering her previous best by more than a second.

In the 100-yard freestyle, she lowered her personal best from 53.87 to 52.97.

She also lowered her previous best in the 50-yard freestyle from 24.92 to 24.76.

She fell just short of a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle in which she clocked 1:56.69 just shy of her best time of 1:56.42.

Simone Vale opened her 2021 campaign at this meet and featured in two Championship finals.

In the 100-yard backstroke, she placed ninth with a time of 59.39. She would also contest the longest backstroke race, the 200-yard event, in which she placed 10th in 2:12.39.

The South Florida Aquatics Club won the women’s section won with 1013.50 points. Pine Crest was second with 492 points. The Jupiter Dragons were sixth with 273.50 points. The South Florida Aquatics also captured the men and overall titles.

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    One of the UK’s fastest deaf swimmers has spent more than 1,000 days campaigning against “discriminatory” policies that deny him funding.

    Nathan Young, a holder of seven national records, is not entitled to any Government or National Lottery money to support his ambitions.

    The reason is that UK Sport, the agency which allocates funding on behalf of those entities, is focused solely on Olympic and Paralympic sports.

    As deafness on its own is not a discipline in the Paralympics, Wirral-based Young, 24, falls outside its criteria.

    He is eligible to compete in the Deaflympics – the multi-sport event for deaf athletes sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee – but Great Britain does not financially back its entrants, unlike some other countries.

    The only central funding available for solely deaf athletes is at grassroots level, with nothing for elite competitors such as Young.

    That has left him needing to work and fundraise alongside his training to ensure he is able to meet the huge outlay needed to compete on the global stage.

    For most of the last three years, he has also spent a large amount of his time running a campaign to get the parameters for funding changed, believing the current rules to be unfair.

    “At the end of the day it’s discrimination,” said Young, whose campaign passed the 1,000-day mark in February.

    “It’s completely isolating a whole disability. If I was a Paralympic swimmer, I would have been getting paid since I was 16 or 17. It could have been a career that I could have had.

    “Right now, I train, I go to the gym but all the other things I should be getting as what you would class as an elite athlete, I don’t get any of it.

    “Others have the best treatment available to them to keep them going mentally, physically and in every aspect. I should be getting physio, doing strength and conditioning but I get none of that.

    “When I’m training right now, I’m thinking I should be working. It’s not what I should be thinking about.”

    Young’s campaigning has involved giving numerous speeches and interviews as well as writing many letters and articles. He has also contacted MPs and, as part of a wider campaign with UK Deaf Sport, has even visited Parliament.

    With UK Sport funding for recent Olympic/Paralympic cycles being around £300million, it is a source of frustration for Young that not even a relatively small amount can be found for Deaflympians.

    “What we’re asking for is so little,” said Young, who might need to find around £3,000 to fund a trip to next year’s Deaflympics in Tokyo.

    “UK Deaf Sport only asked for £4million for us (deaf athletes), which is so little when there’s £300-and-something million for Olympic and Paralympic sport.

    “We’re getting the same responses. We keep pushing it and pushing it but it’s been over 1,000 days now and it’s been an exhausting journey.”

    A UK Sport statement read: “UK Sport’s remit is specifically focused on investing in sports and athletes who are eligible to compete at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    “The Deaflympics falls outside of Olympic and Paralympic sport. We are therefore unable to fund athletes targeting this event.”

    A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “This Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including deaf people.

    “Sport England has committed £1.2million between 2022 and 2027 to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level through widening participation and supporting the development pathway for talented athletes.”

  • Ja's swimmers boast big dreams, but money woes linger; team manager pleas for help as Carifta budget at $400,000 per swimmer Ja's swimmers boast big dreams, but money woes linger; team manager pleas for help as Carifta budget at $400,000 per swimmer

    Raising an elite athlete is a financial challenge. That is something Jamaica’s swim parents know more than most, as they are stuck with the age-old burden of footing the cost to have their children represent the country.

    Aside from occasional assistance from the ministry of sport and the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica’s (ASAJ), which covers a percentage of funding to some regional meets, or even when reimbursements are to come from World Aquatics, formerly FINA, for participation at some international meets, the task of covering travel expenses often leaves parents on edge to the point where they have to choose and refuse invitations to certain events.

    The idea of not competing at certain events also takes a toll on the athletes, who at different levels of their respective careers, would be eager to rub shoulders with others from across the region or elsewhere around the world as part of their development.

    In fact, while all swimmers at their respective levels are talented and focused, the hard truth is that it is those with the superior training and resources –hefty financial resources –who pull away from the pack.

    It is with this in mind that Annelies Denny has reiterated the call for corporate Jamaica to partner with the ASAJ and parents to ensure that the country’s next Olympian doesn’t get left behind.

    Denny, who will serve as Jamaica’s team manager to the Carifta Aquatics Championships, made the appeal as parents stare down a $400,000 budget to have their child participate at this year’s 37th edition of the event in The Bahamas from March 28 to April 7.

    “We know swimming is not track and field as yet. We don't have that breakout star. Alia Atkinson has now retired and so I understand that corporate Jamaica may feel where is your Olympic medal or where is your world championship medal. I do understand that, but we would really welcome the opportunity to partner with you,” Denny said in a heartfelt plea.

    “Some of these kids really have the potential to not just go to the Olympics or World Championship, but to actually do really well at the (age-group) level. But it's going to take a corporation to partner with us to make that happen. What you find is because they start competing at this young age group level, what happens is by the time the swimmers are physically matured and are ready to take it to that next level, the parents are kind of all tapped out because we bear the bulk of the cost,” she told SportsMax.TV.

    While declaring that parents are happy to make the financial sacrifices in certain regards, it is during the build up to, and for participation at regional and international competitions that they require assistance to offset expenses.

    Denny explained that partnering with the ASAJ also presents the opportunity for exposure to the company’s brand.

    “Obviously, there's a lot of nutrition to think about, there's healthcare as well as your coaching fees. A technical suit which they have to race in, it can run up to US$500 or US$600, including the goggles, equipment, all of those things. So we bear those costs on a daily and ongoing basis. It is when it comes down to competitions where you're representing your country, you're looking for that partnership because these are age group swimmers,” Denny noted.

    She continued: “So after a while it becomes a great burden, and you just can't do it anymore. And so, this is where we really need some partnerships because I think there's a lot of opportunity not just for the swimmers to do well, but also to, there's opportunity for branding and publicity that is unrivaled.

    “When I think of the swimmers' deck T-shirts, those that they wear on the deck or the track suits, every time they're on the podium, you see the brand. It's a source of pride for them to wear the team T-shirt and bag and if a company’s brand is on those, it means their brand is being seen several times a week by hundreds of people all the time. So that’s one avenue and we're really ramping up our social media presence so there's a lot of opportunity there and I would just love for somebody to call and say they are on board.”

    That said, Denny pointed out that the parent body under the guidance of the ASAJ’s sponsorship committee used initiatives, such as a bake sale to raise funds, which is a mere drop in the bucket when the overall figure of the team is taken into account.

    Still, she remains cautiously optimistic that all members of the 28-strong team, will make the trip to assist the country in surpassing its fourth-place finish from last year’s event.

    This year’s event, which serves as an Olympic qualifier, will also feature an 18 and over category to assist those swimmers hunting the Olympic qualifying standards.

    “It is a strong team and so we're looking forward to some very strong performances from them. So, if there's anybody in corporate Jamaica who would like to get on board with this team and give them a hand, please don't hesitate to contact us,” Denny declared.

    “We earned some money from the bake sale, and we’ve asked all of our swimmers on the Carifta team to go out and beg their school friends, auntie and uncle or teacher to just give a donation pledge for the number of laps they're going to swim at the event. This is to again help us collectively reduce the cost and we're still waiting to hear back from the Sports Development Foundation, so hopefully we'll get a decent amount from them as well,” she ended.

    Teams: Girls -Kai Lawson, Kia Alert, Alexandria Cogle, Jessica Denniston, Skyelar Richards, Alyssa Jefferson, Imani-Leigh Hall, Leah Chin, Christanya Shirley, Carolyn Levy-Powell, Giani Francis, Leanna Wainwright, Sabrina Lyn, Aliyah Heaven, Lia Forrester

    Boys -Noah Parker, Arush Rochlani, Matthew Heaven, Matthew Kennedy, Kai Radcliffe, Noah Barrett, Noland Barrett, Adlai Nixon, Nelson Denny, Brady Lewison, Zack-Andre Johnson, Benjamin Davis, Malcolm McKenzie

    Officials: Annelies Denny (Manager), Kafia Rapley (Coach), Adolfo Morales Claro (Coach), Lemone Lowe (Assistant coach), Carleene Grant-Davis (Doctor), Anthony Miller (Physiotherapist), Michelle Parker (Chaperone)

  • All set for 26th staging of Mayberry All Island Swim Meet All set for 26th staging of Mayberry All Island Swim Meet

    Some of Jamaica’s finest young swimmers will gather at the National Aquatics Centre at the National Stadium in Kingston on March 15 and 16 to compete in the 26th staging of the Mayberry All Island Swim Meet.

    The meet will see 1080 athletes taking part in total representing 38 Preparatory Schools and 28 High Schools.

    “We are very excited about this partnership with Mayberry and we’re looking forward to some great competition. The athletes are very excited and we’re looking for some records as well as a great turnout,” said Aquatics Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) President Lance Rochester speaking to SportsMax.tv at the launch of the meet on Wednesday.

    This meet is also serving as a vehicle for some of the competing athletes to fine-tune their skills in preparation for the Carifta Swimming Championships set for March 28-April 7 in Nassau.

    “A number of the athletes who are on the Carifta Games team for Bahamas later this month are using this as a final tune-up event to get some competition sharpening prior to that event,” Rochester said.

    Title sponsors Mayberry Investments Limited have been partnering with the ASAJ since 1999. Other sponsors for the meet include Couples Resorts, Supreme Ventures Limited, Ultra Financier, FirstRock Real Estate Investments Limited, Matrix Group, Iron Rock and Stewarts.

    “Sponsors and partners are absolutely critical. We can’t do events like these without them. We can’t plan effectively or budget effectively without them so we’re very grateful for that support,” Rochester said.

    He also discussed plans for Jamaica to eventually expand to competing in other aquatic disciplines.

    “Swimming is now moving towards expanding. We want to provide more opportunities, first at the learning to swim level where we believe all children have a right to learn how to swim. We also want to expand to the other aquatic disciplines. Swimming is the core but we have seven other aquatic disciplines which still have so much untapped potential and, over time, we believe that we’ll be laying the foundation towards producing the elite-level results at the world stage that all Jamaicans want to see,” he said.

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