MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica will be represented in swimming at the London Olympics later this year after 23-year-old Florida-based Alia Atkinson swam a personal best 1 minute 08.45 seconds in the 100m breaststroke event at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix in Northern California on Sunday.

Atkinson, who was qualifying for her third Olympics, was making an ‘A’ qualifying standard for the first time. She beat her previous personal best of 1:08.86 and dipped under the qualifying mark of 1:08.49.

Her qualification brings to four the number of sporting disciplines Jamaicans will take part in at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza, along with track and field, equestrian and tae kwon do.

Martin Lyn, president of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ), told the Jamaica Observer that Alia’s qualification was “an extremely big confidence booster”.

He said Atkinson’s coach, Chris Sanderson, credited her improvement to a new technique as a change to her stroke had seen her getting more power from her kick.

Atkinson, who also has ‘B’ qualifying standards in the 200m breaststroke and 400m Individual Medley events, could be one of three swimmers representing the country in London as Timothy Wynter and Ramon Walton are also chasing qualifying times.

Both male swimmers failed to make the ‘B’ standard of their events at a meet last weekend, but Wynter is expected to compete at a meet in the Bahamas next weekend, June 15-16, just before the cut-off date of June 18, and will be sponsored by the ASAJ and the Jamaica Olympic Association.

Wynter is competing in the 100m backstroke, while Walton swims the 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly events.