Jamaica’s champion swimmer Alia Atkinson produced another series of creditable performances, but it was not enough to stop her London Roar team from tasting their first defeat at the second edition of the International Swimming League (ISL) in Budapest, Hungary.

Atkinson’s team, which won matches two and five, were looking good to make it three-from-three in match eight, but found the Cali Condors in defiant mood and as such had to settle for the runners-up position on this occasion at the Duna Arena on Friday.

In the process, Atkinson also had her 50-metre breaststroke unbeaten run dating back to 2016 broken, as she placed third in that event with second-place finishes in the 100m breaststroke and the 4X100m medley relay. She also placed second in the 50m breaststroke skins race where she earned 21 valuable bonus points for her team.

The Cali Condors, who led proceedings after Thursday’s opening day of the thrilling two-day encounter, ended with 507 points, some 15.5 points ahead of the Melanie Marshall-coached London Roar, which tallied 491.5 points. Tokyo Frog Kings (419 points) and NY Breakers (296.5 points) completed the frame.

In the highly-anticipated 50m breaststroke showdown, Atkinson, the world record holder in the event, who registered an impressive 12 consecutive wins, came face-to-face with the undefeated American Lilly King of the Cali Condors for the first time in an ISL match.

With three of the six fastest swimmers in history lined up in the event, an explosive contest was always in the making, and so it was, as Atkinson, King and Molly Hannis, also of the Condors, were dead even off the blocks.

Hannis turned first, but King and Atkinson came roaring back in the closing stages in an exciting dash to the wall. King touched first in 29.20 seconds, ahead of teammate Hannis (29.25s) with Atkinson (29.65s) in third.

Though King made it 29-for-29 in ISL event wins, including six-for-six in the 50m breaststroke, Atkinson’s world record of 28.56 seconds done in the same pool in Budapest two years ago, remained intact.

Atkinson, 31, and King, 23, also locked horns on the breaststroke leg of the 4X100m medley relay, where King and her Condors team again finished tops in 3:47.79, ahead of London Roar (3:47.91) and Tokyo Frog Kings (3:50.61).

The two again met in the 100m breaststroke, where Atkinson fought hard, but King was determined to extend her unbeaten run and she did just that, winning in a fast 1:03.39. Atkinson (1:03.53) was second with Hannis (1:04.36) in third on this occasion.

By virtue of topping the medley relay, the Condors played to their strength and decided that the breaststroke would be the event for the skins series, where Atkinson and King would again continue their rivalry.

In round one, Atkinson, a four-time Jamaican Olympian, clocked a flat 30.00 for second behind King (29.72), Reona Aoki (30.06) of Tokyo Kings and Annie Lazor(30.12), also of London Roar, also progressing to the next round.

Both King (29.94) and Atkinson (30.17) separated themselves from the others and set up another thrilling duel for the third and final round where King again won in 29.04, ahead of Atkinson in 29.62.

Atkinson’s performance placed her 12th in the Match MVP standing on 27 points, while she slipped from 17th to 25th overall on the season’s MVP standings on 99.5 points.

Meanwhile, Cali Condors, who remain perfect in three matches ,lead the standings on 12 points, one ahead of defending champions Energy Standard and Atkinson’s London Roar on 11 points each.

Team Iron and LA Current are next on nine points, followed by Tokyo Frog Kings and Toronto Titans on seven points, with NY Breakers (six points) and DC Trident (five points) in eighth and ninth, respectively. Aqua Centurions are at the foot of the 10-team standing on three points.