Alia Atkinson capped off her strong 2020 ISL campaign with two second-place and a third place finish during the weekend finals when last season’s runners up, London Roar, finished third.

Build, battle and get better is the motto Alia Atkinson will be using to motivate herself and her teammates as the London Roar head into this weekend’s final of the International Swimming League in Budapest.

Team captain Alia Atkinson had another strong showing for the London Roar during the latest match today of the International Swimming League in Budapest. The Jamaican Olympian once again won the 50m breaststroke and was a member of the 4x100m medley relay that also finished first as the Roar produced another strong showing.

Atkinson extended her unbeaten streak in the 50m breast to 12 dating back four years when she delivered a strong performance to win in 29.66 and earn 10 valuable points for her team. It was the second time that she led the Roar to a 1-3 finish as team Annie Lazor came home in 30.20.

The Roar teammates were split by Lindsey Kozelsky of the DC Tridents who touched in 30.02.

Atkinson then swam the second leg of the 4x100m medley relay in what was another 1-3 finish for the Roar.

The team of Atkinson, Kira Toussaint, Marie Wattel and Freya Anderson won the event in 3:47.85 almost three seconds clear of Tokyo Frog Kings (3:50.41) and London Roar’s second team, who finished in 3:51.72.

Alia Atkinson and Guilherme Guido have been named co-captains for London Roar’s second round of competition set to begin on Friday.

Atkinson was impressive on debut for the International Swimming League franchise winning the 50m breaststroke on October 18. She was also a member of the Roar’s winning 4x100m medley relay team.

The affable Jamaican swimming star was humbled by the appointment.

“Such a privilege! So excited for Match #2,” she said on Instagram.

Atkinson is having her first season with the London Roar after competing for Team Iron last season. She was among 17 new additions to the London Roar roster prior to the start the current season.

Her co-captain is a  Brazilian backstroke swimmer who specializes in the sprint events and who has won gold medals at the World Short Course Championships and the Pan Am Games.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter of the LA Current edged closer to his national record in the 100-metre backstroke after finishing fourth in the event as action in the International Swimming League in Budapest resumed on Sunday.

Carter erased his season best of 51.28 from a just over a week ago when he stopped the clock in 50.85. His form has been improving as competition in the ISL intensifies. He has witnessed improvement in his  opening speed as well as his ability to maintain speed in the latter stages of the race.

On Sunday, Carter was second at the half-way mark before finishing fourth.

Notwithstanding the fourth-place finish, Carter is putting the national record on notice that it is in jeopardy of being lowered before the end of the  ISL season. Carter is now the only swimmer in the CARIFTA and CCCAN federations to have gone below 51 seconds and he has now done it twice.

The race was won by Ryosuke Irie of the Tokyo Frog Kings in a time of 49.91,threatening his Japanese national record of 49.65. Irie won the bronze at the World Championships in this event in 2014 in 50.12.

Second place went to Irishman Shane Ryan of the Toronto Titans in 50.22. The reigning World Championship silver medalist in the 50-metre backstroke lowered his national record from 50.41.

Third place went to Ryan Murphy, Carter’s teammate and the current long-course World Champion in 50.42. The LA Current’s Team Manager Lenny Krayzelburg swept the backstroke events for the US at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The LA Current took the win with 535.50 points. The Tokyo Frog Kings were next best with 506.5 points. Third place was occupied by the Toronto Titans with 401 points. The Aqua Centurions re fourth with 260 points.

Alia Atkinson chalked up wins, her first for the London Roar, in Budapest on Sunday.

Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson believes joining the London Roar for the 2020 season of the International Swimming League (ISL) will allow her to focus on her strengths.

The 31-year-old Atkinson was among 17 new additions to the 2019 finalists, who will be seeking to go one better this year.  

Swimming for Team Iron that finished fifth in the team standings last season, the team called upon Atkinson to swim strokes, which did not allow her to be at her best for the club. However, she did perform well in her preferred breaststroke events winning the 50m breaststroke in Lewisville and the 50m and 100m breaststroke events in Budapest and London.

She is hopeful that this season London Roar will position her to compete in the discipline where she is strongest.

“I am excited to be a part of London Roar. I think this time will be a little different,” she told Sportsmax.TV this week.

“There was a lot of demand on the last team in respect to me going outside the breaststroke events so I think this time I will be able to focus more on my specialities and hopefully we will be able to make it to the finals.”

That said, she was quick to point out that there is no ill will towards Team Iron, for whom she debuted in the ISL.

“Last year was still a fantastic experience and I wish the best for all the teams, especially with the COVID situation going on, but this time I am staying closer to the green and gold,” she said in reference to the London Roar’s team colours.

The London Roar reached the Las Vegas final last season and finished second behind Energy Standard. It returns a lot of key players in season two, including team captain Adam Peaty and big point scorers Cate Campbell and Emma McKeon. The club is composed primarily of the best British and Australian swimmers, including some of the best swimmers based in the two countries, such as Andreas Vazaios and Anna Hopkin.

The Roar lost key pieces in Canadians Yuri Kisil and Finlay Knox to the Toronto Titans as well as Mireia Belmonte, who has jumped ship to Team Iron.

This year, the competition is expected to be even fiercer with the addition of two new teams - Toronto Titans and Tokyo Frog Kings. The organisers have also brought in new rules for the league that is set to get underway on October 16 in Bucharest, Hungary.

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson won the short course 50m and 100m breaststroke events at the London leg of the International Swimming League on the weekend.

Alia Atkinson won the 50m breaststroke and was second in the 100m on her debut in the International Swimming League on the weekend.