RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, CMC – Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson failed to recover from a slow start and finished way outside the medals in eighth position, in the final of the women’s 100 metres breaststroke at the Rio Olympic Games here on Monday.
The 27-year-old Atkinson, the Caribbean’s main medal prospect in swimming, was left with too much ground to cover and ended at the back of the field in a time of one minute, 08.10 seconds.
American teenager Lily King clinched the gold, winning in an Olympic record time of 1:04.93 while Russia’s Yulia Efimova was second in 1:05.50 and another US swimmer, Catherine Meili, took bronze in 1:05.69.
Dethroned champion and world record holder, Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, finished just ahead of Atkinson in 1:07.32.
The Jamaican swimmer declined to speak to reporters in the mixed zone after the race but King was ecstatic about her victory.
“Tonight has been so crazy. My life is changing right now. I’m a gold medallist and it’s what I’ve always wanted to be and it’s an incredible feeling,” said King.
“I’m probably going to start crying. I’m usually not a crier but this is a special moment so we’ll see if it gets to me or not.”
Atkinson, the first ever black woman to win a world swimming title, was the only Caribbean competitor advancing to a final since the swimming competition began on Saturday.
She had qualified for the final on Sunday with the fifth fastest time of 1:06.72, the same as Meili.
It was the second consecutive final for Atkinson at her fourth Olympic Games.
