Alia Atkinson Shares Thoughts on 50 Breast DQ, Retirement from Swimming

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Reported by Michael Hamann.

Women’s 100 breast Final

• World Record: 1:02.36 – MEILUTYTE Ruta (LTU) 12 OCT 2013 / ATKINSON Alia (JAM) 6 DEC 2014 / 26 AUG 2016
• Championship Record: 1:02.36 – ATKINSON Alia (JAM) 6 DEC 2014
• World Junior Record: 1:02.36 – MEILUTYTE Ruta (LTU) 12 OCT 2013

Top 8 finishers:

1. Qianting Tang (CHN): 1:03.47
2. Sophie Hansson (SWE): 1:03.50
3. Mona McSharry (IRL): 1:03.92
4. Alia Atkinson (JAM): 1:04.03
5. Molly Renshaw (GBR): 1:04.37
6. Nika Godun (RSF): 1:04.43
7. Kotryna Teterevkova (LTU): 1:04.64
8. Emily Escobedo (USA): 1:05.14

China’s Qianting Tan swam out to the early lead, splitting 29.79 at the 50 wall and never looked back, winning the 100 breast in a new Asian record of 1:03.47. She held off a hard charging Sophie Hansson of Sweden, who touched second in 1:03.50 for a new Swedish record.

Hansson grabs her fourth medal of these championships, after finishing with the bronze in the 50 breast and 4×100 free relay, and swimming the breaststroke leg on Sweden’s World Record-breaking 4×50 medley relay.

Ireland’s Mona McSharry, who swimms collegiately in the NCAA for the University of Tennessee, took the bronze in 1:03.92, breaking her own Irish record from the semis.

The field’s veteran, co-World Record holder Alia Atkinson of Jamaica, finished in fourth just off the podium. Atkinson was DQ’d earlier in semis of the 50 breast earlier in the meet, a common theme at these championships.