Atkinson mines silver at Goodwill Games BRISBANE, CANA: JAMAICAN SWIMMING star Janelle Atkinson secured the English-speaking Caribbean's first ever Goodwill Games swimming medal when she placed second in the women's 800 metres freestyle yesterday. Atkinson, 18, was slightly slower than her season's best time, but her effort of eight minutes 39.71 was good enough to chase gold medal winner Yana Klochkova of the Ukraine down the stretch. American Adrienne Binder was third. Atkinson, who won five gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean (CCCAN) championship in the Dominican Republic in July, but missed the subsequent World Championship in Japan, as she recovered from knee surgery, was landing her first ever medal at a global meet. She was just over a second behind Klochkova, who won in 8:38.51. Klochkova, the Olympic 200 metres individual medley champion, and Binder (8:40.00) disputed the early pace and Binder led at the 700-metre mark, before Klochkova took over and drew clear, while Atkinson came on for the silver. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney last September, Atkinson was an English-speaking Caribbean best ever fourth in the women's 400 metres freestyle, just over a year after capturing three silver medals at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
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