After two days of sunshine, the heavens opened on the third day of the 2021 Piranha Senior Invite in Plantation, Florida, for the finals but it didn’t change the course of Alia Atkinson’s dominance over the proceedings.
Coming off the back of some strong swims on the second night of competition, Atkinson continued her unbeaten run in the 50-metre breaststroke Saturday.
After posting the fastest qualifying time of a sunny morning with a 31.82, the Jamaican darling of the pool went even faster as the rains came, clocking a season-best 31.25 to win the final, bettering the 31.27 she did to win at the Southern Zone Sectional Championships last month.
Second place went to teammate South Florida Aquatics teammate Olivia Dinehart in 33.81 and third to Azura Florida Aquatics Micaela Sierra of Uruguay, who set a new personal best and national record of 34.35.
Atkinson took another decisive victory in 50m butterfly that she won in 26.97. It was the fifth time that she has dipped under 27 seconds for the event. Michaela Chokureva of Phoenix Swimming clocked 28.29 for second place while Atkinson’s teammate Paige Lane was third in 28.51.
On Friday, Atkinson put her national 100-metre butterfly record 59.94 under threat.
The Jamaican Olympian maintained her number-one seed after the morning heats when she clocked 1:01.74. In the Championship final, she surged to an early lead splitting 28.25, coming back in 32.62 to register a winning time of 1:00.87.
It was her best time in the event since the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games when she won the bronze medal in 1:00.13. It is also the fourth-fastest time of her South Florida Aquatics career.
Celina Marquez of Azura Florida Aquatics finished second in 1:02.93, not far off her national record of 1:02.33. Third went to Atkinson’s teammate, Maddy Smutny in 1:03.64.
Atkinson would then dominate the 100-metre breaststroke, winning in a season-best time of 1:08.40, a time that beat the field by almost four seconds.
Her best long-course time prior to the race was at the FINA Champions series in January 2020.
No other CARIFTA region swimmer has ever made the Olympic final in this event other than Atkinson, who did it in 2012 and 2016, who has improved her time at each outing so far this season.
Second place went to Paige MacEachern of Pine Crest in 1:12.27 and third to Uruguayan Micaela Sierra in a new national record of 1:12.73.
Artistic Swim VP lauds young team on 25-medal haul, optimistic about sport's continued growth locally
Robyn Chin Sang, the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) vice-president with responsibility for artistic swimming, believes the performance of the country's young stars at the recently-concluded Worldwide Invitational Meet augurs well for the continued growth and development of the sport locally.
Chin Sang's pride was very evident, as she reflected on the manner in which a 18-member team from the Island Aquatics Synchro club, displayed their prowess among more illustrious competitors from various countries, in Coral Springs, Florida.
The athletes accompanied by two coaches and one official, secured 25 medals ---15 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze ---bettering the 10 won by an eight-member team last year.
"The competition was much harder this year, as we had more competitors from different clubs and countries and more advance swimmers. So, it wasn't easy, but our girls did very well in putting the winnings in the bag and embodied the through Jamaican spirit of little but tallawah," Chin Sang said.
She pointed out that attending events like these are vital to the sport's continued development as they introduce younger athletes, in particular, to different levels of competition. However, the fact that the team had to conduct fundraisers to pay their way didn't escape her and she is now optimistic that their performances will assist in getting corporate Jamaica on board with the sport.
Artistic swimming, previously known as synchronised swimming, requires athletes to perform coordinated or identical movements in time to music, with performances lasting several minutes.
"These competitions give the girls the experience and drive to continue in the sport and encourage them to keep working hard to get to the new level that they witnessed on international stage like these.
"So, we are very proud of the way they held their own and ensured the country's flag kept flying high. All 18 athletes returned with at least one medal, all our girls placed in their routines and eight of them placed in figures. In addition to that, they had four awards for placing in top 12 in figures, as well as three best figures titles in three different age categories," Chin Sang shared.
"The success of the team will have a greater impact not only on the athletes but also on the wider Jamaican community. We will have more swimmers being interested in the sport and hopefully more sponsorship will come on board from the corporate companies to help the growth of the sport and its athletes," she added.
On that note, Chin Sang lauded the unwavering efforts of Coach Olga Novokshchenova and her Island Aquatics family for their dedication to assisting the athletes by providing the training and opening up the possibility to take part in global artistic swimming competitions.
"We will continue to train for our next local competition, to take place on a date to be confirmed and then we will go from there. But the aim is always to give off our best for the athletes," she ended.
Bahamas swimming star Joanna Evans to appeal two-year anti-doping ban before CAS - "I am broken, devastated."
Bahamian swimming star Joanna Evans intends to appeal before the Court of Arbitration, a decision by the FINA Doping Panel to ban her from the sport for two years after she tested positive for Clostebol. The decision was handed down on February 15, 2023.
She will do so, she said, with the support of the Bahamas Aquatic Federation, her family, coaches, friends and community.
Clostebol is a synthetic anabolic–androgenic steroid and is the 4-chloro derivative of the natural hormone testosterone. The chlorination prevents conversion to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) while also rendering the chemical incapable of conversion to estrogen.
A multiple CAC Games gold medalist and two-time Olympian, the 25-year-old Evans claims in a recent lengthy and emotional post on Instagram that she would never knowingly use a banned substance, adding that the situation has put her in a constant state of distress.
“Anyone who knows me, knows without hesitation that I would never, ever intentionally take a banned substance,” she said.
“The results show an unfathomable low amount of the substance which absolutely could not have enhanced my performance.”
Evans said she was tested in Austin, Texas on December 3, 2021 and was “stunned” when she was informed over the phone that her sample contained a banned substance.
She explained how she believes she came to test positive saying that while attending a meet in Naples, Italy on September 11, 2021, she cut her finger on a “jagged, rusty balcony” at the hotel where she was staying.
“Concerned about infection, I walked to a nearby pharmacy and asked for an antibiotic cream,” she said.
“I was given a tube of Trofodermin, which I believed was similar to the antibiotic Neomycin. Unknown to me at the time, an ingredient of Trofodermin is the banned substance Clostebol.”
She used the cream for three days.
On her return to Austin on October 30, 2021, she slipped on a concrete pavement and sustained a substantial gash on her knee. She used the same cream she bought in Italy. She said she used the cream for five days and then once or twice a week until the end of November that year.
A distraught Evans stated that life has been difficult since she received news of her positive test.
“Since my test result, I have been unable to function. I am broken and devastated as swimming has been my life for many years,” she said while reiterating that she is not a drug cheat.
“I would never cheat and I take pride in representing my country, college, family, friends and community to the best of my ability.
“I have a history of dozens of clean tests and conduct myself with integrity in all aspects of my life. I find it incredulous that a miniscule amount of a banned substance applied unknowingly through a topical cream can have such life-altering consequences.”
As such, Evans has hired a “specialist attorney” in this field to represent me in legal proceedings to defend my integrity and the reputation of Bahamas swimming.
Bahamas secures 20 medals on day one of CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Curacao
Defending champions, the Bahamas hauled in a total of 20 medals that includes eight golds, five silvers and seven bronze medals. medals on night one of the 2023 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Curacao on Thursday.
Nigel Forbes swam to a new record 54.75 in the 15-17 Boys 100m Butterfly, breaking the previous record 54.85.
The Bahamas also finished top of the podium in the 11-12 Boys and Girls 200m Breaststroke races.
Jaylah Threadgill produced a personal best of 3:03.68 to win the girls category while Trace Russell swam 2:50.46 for gold in the boys division.
Emmanuel Gadson won the 15-17 boys 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:22.85. David Singh took gold in the 50m backstroke with a time of 31.15 seconds. Saleste Gibson secured the gold in the 11-12 girls 100m Butterfly when she stopped the clock on 1:09.11.
The Bahamians also took gold in the boys and girls 11-12 4x400m Freestyle relays.
Bahamas leads the overall points standings after day one with 262 ahead of the Cayman Islands (175), Barbados (135), Trinidad and Tobago (120) and Martinique (105.5).
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