Commonwealth Games 2018 | Atkinson advances to 50m breaststroke semis

World rated swimmer Alia Atkinson comfortably won her heat in the 50m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. 

Swimming out of lane four at the Optus Aquatic Centre, Atkinson, whose 30.17 seconds registered at the Glasgow 2014 instalment, is the best time recorded in the history of the Commonwealth Games, clocked 30.98 seconds on Wednesday (Jamaica time) to advance as one of 16 qualifiers to the next round.

Canada's Faith Knelson was second in 31.19 seconds with Wales' Chleo Tutton, 31.24 swimming third.

Atkinson's time was the fifth fastest among all qualifiers. 

The Jamaican flag-bearer will next feature in the semi-final at 6:06 a.m. on Friday morning. 

She will also compete in the 50m butterfly and 100m breaststroke events.