Alia Goes for Gold
 Jamaica
could win its first medal on today's sixth day of the
competition at these XV (15th) Pan American Games, when swimmer
Alia Atkinson competes in the 100-meter butterfly final at 10:34
am (8:34 am Jamaica time) at the Riocentro Aquatic Park.
The seven-time gold medalist from the 2005 Central
American and Caribbean (CAC) Games secured her place in this
morning's final by clocking a new national record of 1 minute
02. 40 seconds. Swimming in lane three, the student of Texas A&M
University shaved 0.51 seconds off her own national record of 1
minute 02.91secs established yesterday in the heats.The old
mark of 1 minute 03.95secs was held by Tamara Swaby from the
2003 staging of the Pan Games in the Dominican Republic.
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| RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -
Jamaica's Alia Atkinson stretches ahead of her 100m
butterfly semi-final yesterday. (Photo: Br |
Atkinson said that making
this 100m Butterfly final is a bonus, as it is her weaker event.
"I was going in for my better event, the breaststroke. I needed
another warm-up event so I was swimming the 100 fly just to get
a feel of the water," the delighted 18-year-old revealed.
Technical director of the Amateur Swimming Association of
Jamaica, Jackie Walter, said that Atkinson has a good chance to
medal today. "She's sixth (on time) going into the final (and)
I'm very excited with she moving up into the medals, because
she's a racer," Walter reasoned.
"Our plan for today is to
go out a little bit harder for the first 50 meters and then hold
on and see what she can do coming back (to the finish). "If she
can down to a one zero one low, then she stands a good chance of
a medal," the veteran coach added.
Meanwhile, Atkinson will also contest the semi-finals her more
favored 100m breaststroke today, after clocking the seventh
fastest time of 1 minute 12.25secs to finish third in heat two,
which was won in a new Pan American Games record time of 1
minute 07.78secs. Moodie, who returned 1 minute 18.56secs for
seventh in heat three had the 19th fastest time overall and
failed to reach the last 16. Earlier in the day, Atkinson
clocked 26.74secs to finish fifth in semi-final two of the 50m
Freestyle behind Brazilian Flavia Delaroli, who posted a brisk
25.34secs to win. The other Jamaican, 16-year-old Natasha Moodie,
returned 26.85secs in the same race. |
