This weekend, 25-year old Alia Atkinson from Jamaica became the first black female to win a swimming world title.
Atkinson defeated heavily favored Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, tying her world record in the 100m breaststroke.
BREAKING: Jamaican swimmer Alia Atkinson made history becoming 1st black woman to win a world title 1:02:36 #WR pic.twitter.com/apcSrFA042
— Team Jamaica (@JamaicaOlympics) December 6, 2014
“I realized I was catching up so I was just trying to get a good finish,” she told the official FINA website.
“I’m not used to seeing my name up in number one so it was kind of a shock, but a good one!”
Atkinson finished 4th in the event at the London Olympics. This was Jamaica’s first swimming gold medal.
H/T: CNN