Alia Atkinson, Jamaica’s swim star and Olympic athlete, has been named the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Female Athlete of the Year for 2020. The “Swammy Awards” are given out by “Swim Swam” quarterly magazine, which was established in 2013 to cover the international sport of swimming. This is the sixth time in the history of the awards that Atkinson, three-time national Sportswoman of the Year” won a Swammy, having previously been presented with the magazine’s award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.

Atkinson, 32, ended her season ranking as the 15th-highest earner of all swim athletes – women and men – and she was also the 21st-highest point earner. At the November 15, 2020, final of the International Swimming League (ISL) competition in Budapest, Hungary, Atkinson finished the 100-meter breaststroke just under the world record of 1:02 .36 with a time of 1:02.66 to win the first semifinal. Her time broke the league record and set the fastest time for the distance in the world for 2020. Atkinson finished second, however, when American Lilly King set a record of 1:02.50 to win the race.

Atkinson took a third-place finish in the 50-meter breaststroke in the final at the ISL with28.88 seconds. This gave her four of the 10 fastest times in the history of the race. She filled in when the team needed her as well, taking part in the 100-meter butterfly in the first semifinal, setting a new Jamaican national record with a time of 57.13 seconds.

She ended the year of competition by ranking second in the world in the 100 SCM breaststroke with a time of 1:02.66 and came in third in the world in the 50 SCM breaststroke with a time of 28.88. She still holds the top-two fastest performances of all time in this event.

Photo Source: Deposit Photos