By Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
Atkinson... I'm only at about 75 per cent right now. - File
JAMAICA'S swimming sensation Janelle Atkinson is on the comeback trail following a spate of injuries.
Both Atkinson and Malia Metela who competes for the French territories in the Caribbean have garnered high world rankings released by the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA).
This is despite the fact that Atkinson only resumed swimming in April after a one-year break forced upon her so she could recuperate from surgery on both her shoulders.
Atkinson's outlook on her battles with adversity are spritely and hopeful, and this has no doubt impacted upon her surprising recovery.
"I'm only at about 75 per cent right now, but I've been doing faster times than my coach has expected and so I know that all I have to do is keep working hard. I'm going to do my best for the Jamaican people," she said on Wednesday.
When asked what long term effect her injuries might have, she spoke of the increased difficulty in swimming long distances, and how this has led her to concentrate more on sprinting.
"It's frustrating to have to think about things that you would normally do naturally, but I guess I have to make the adjustments. I still get frustrated when I don't swim as fast as I should, but that's natural."
Atkinson, a student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, holds a ranking of 62 in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4:15.99. She also sits at 121st in the 800m event, 144th in the 100metre with a National record time of 57.21 seconds and 147th in the 200m with a time of 2:03.27. She also owns the records at the 200, 400, and 800m at the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC), CARIFTA, and the Central American and Caribbean Championships (CCCAN).
Swimming for the Gator Swim Club, Atkinson will have her hands full, as club champioships begin right after the end of the Collegiate season, which means of course, that she will not get a break from her stringent schedule. The consistency of the hard work will make her stronger and faster. Atkinson's coach, Greg Troy is excited about her Olympic prospects as he thinks her times will get better, and her rankings will improve as her fitness improves.
Malia has top 50 times in the 100m freestyle, the 50m butterfly, and the 100m butterfly. She has placed 39th, 46th, and 41st respectfully. She is the brightest hope of the region's French territories and to underline this she swam a gold medal winning time of 25.18 at the US National Swimming Championships which gave her a global ranking of 9th, the best placing of the region.
