Quick Facts
Biography
Alia Shanee Atkinson (born December 11, 1988) is a Jamaican swimmer and Olympian.
Career
She competed at the 2004 Olympics, and four years later in the 2008 Olympics she finished 25th in the women's 200-metre breaststroke.
She carried the flag for her native country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she set the Jamaican record in the 100-metre butterfly; and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She also competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
She placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2010 NCAA Championships, swimming for Texas A&M.
She also qualified for the 2012 Olympics 100m women's breaststroke finals after defeating Canadian rival Tera van Beilen in a head to head race for the final position. She subsequently placed 4th in the finals of the 2012 Olympics 100m women's breast stroke finishing with a time of 1:06.93.
Atkinson won the 100-metre breaststroke at the 2014 Short Course World Championships in Doha (equalling the record set by Rūta Meilutytė in 2013), becoming the first black woman to win a world swimming title.
Atkinson is coached by Chris Anderson since 2001. Atkinson mostly trains in South Florida Aquatic Club swim team (Broward county, Florida) which is managed by her coach.
Atkinson is not related to Janelle Atkinson, who is a former Jamaican swimmer who also had a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Olympics.