Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson, world indoor swimming champion, has been named one of the ten legendary athletes from Texas A&M to be inducted into the University’s Sports Hall of Fame on September 13, 2019. The Texas A&M Letterman’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019 includes ten athletes who represent a cross-section of sports. These athletes are being honored for their exceptional individual efforts, their team successes, and their accomplishments in the field of athletics that have brought credit to Texas A&M.

Alia Atkinson won four letters in the Texas AYM women’s swimming and diving program, receiving a letter in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. During her four years in the program, Atkinson achieved 19 All-American honors, placing her record as the fourth-best in the history of the program. Atkinson was the 2010 NCAA Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and a three-time Big 12 Champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning the honor in 2007, 2008, and 2010. She won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2007, 2008, and 2010. She also achieved Big 12 Champion titles in the 200 Medley Relay in 2007 and 2008, the 200 Medley Relay in 2008, and the 200 Free Relay in 2010. She is ranked sixth in the program’s history for the 100-yard breaststroke and in the 20-yard breaststroke. She achieved both of these times in 2009 when she was a union at Texas A&M.

In 2014, after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the university in 2010, Atkinson, a four-time Jamaican Olympian, set the world record in the 100-meter breaststroke, winning the event at the Short Course World Championships in Dubai. This made her the first black woman to win a world swimming title.

Along with Atkinson, the athletes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame include Patrick Bates ’92 from football, Kyle Hawthorne ’79 from baseball, Joseph Jones ’08 from men’s basketball, Justin Oliver ’09 from men’s track and field. and Ty Warren ’03 from football.

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