Alia's 'redemption'

Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport

GUADALAJARA, Mexico:

She has long been billed as the next star of Jamaican swimming, and Alia Atkinson finally delivered on the big stage at the XVI Pan American Games last night with a silver medal and a massive new national record of 2:14.75 in the women's 200 metres individual medley.

In taking Jamaica's first medal at the Games and the first in the pool since 1999, the 22-year-old darling of Jamaican swimming shrugged off a heart-breaking near miss on Monday night, and with a twinkle in her eyes, this time she called it "redemption".

Some 40 minutes after Atkinson's silver, Jamaica bagged a second medal when, Charles Pyne, a losing men's singles semi-finalist in badminton, was awarded bronze.

The outstanding performance of the night, however, belonged to Atkinson.

"From this morning I realised I needed to do something big tonight to make up for yesterday," Atkinson, now competing at her third Pan American Games, said.

She added: "I was kind of tired going into this (the race) and I was very surprised, but I told myself, 'Make sure on the last part, wherever you are, just keep going', and it worked."

Monday's fourth-place finish had taught her a harsh lesson, and she changed her game plan for last night's race.

"I learned from the 100m butterfly and the 100m breaststroke. The 100 fly, I went out too slow, and in the breaststroke I went out too fast. This time I just focused on my race and tried not to go out too fast, but to just stay on pace," she added.

Atkinson's time clipped all of 2.56 seconds off her previous best of 2:17.31 set at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico last year.

The gold went to American Julia Smit in 2:13.73, while Brazil's Joanna Maranhao won bronze in 2:15.08.

Jamaica's last medal in swimmingat the Pan American Games were also silver, won by Janelle Atkinson (no relation) in the Winnipeg, Canada, Games of 1999.

In the consolation final for the event, Zara Bailey wrapped up her first ever competition for Jamaica with a sixth-place finish 2:26.84. It was not her best time but she was satisfied.

"It was two seconds faster than my heat, so I am happy," she said. "Being my first international meet, I think I have done pretty well here. I have conquered the nerves and now know how to deal with other international swimmers, although I would have liked to have gone a bit faster."

Pyne's good run in badminton came to an end when he lost in three sets - 18-21, 21-18, 18-21 - to Cuba's Osleni Guerrero.

Pyne, the 30-year-old Canada-based Jamaican number one, had set his sights on gold here after knocking out the number two seed, Peru's Rodrigo Pacheco, but he was thwarted by the solid Cuban.

With the match locked at one set each, the Cuban moved into a dominant position near the end and Pyne, faced with four match points, was able to save two before bowing out.

The Cuban will play Kevin Cordon of Guatemala to decide gold and silver.