Atkinson Named Assistant Swimming Coach
8/25/2006 12:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
Wright State head coach swimming coach Sion Brinn has announced the addition of Janelle Atkinson as an assistant coach for the program.
The 1999-00 National High School Swimmer of the Year, Atkinson earned 10 All-America honors while competing at the University of Florida. She also received two First Team All-Southeastern Conference accolades and had three top-three finishes in three years at the NCAA Championships. Atkinson was part of three SEC championships and was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times.
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Atkinson finished fourth in the 400 free at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and competed at the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. She was a triple silver medalist at the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and took part in the 2003 games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Atkinson was also a seven-time recipient of the Jamaican Swimmer-of-the-Year award and a six-time nominee for the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year.
Atkinson comes to Wright State after working a year as a community relations officer for the Jamaica Information Services in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University before that.
"I am excited to have Janelle join the coaching staff," said Brinn. "Not only does she have an impressive resume of achievements, but she also brings a wealth of knowledge in coaching styles from her years as a world-class athlete."
Atkinson earned a bachelor's degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Florida in 2005.
With the addition of Atkinson to the Raider staff, all four of Wright State's coaches have international experience. Three have been involved in the Olympics in Atkinson, Brinn, who competed for Jamaica in the 1996 games in Atlanta and for Great Britain in the 2000 games, and diving coach Liyi Wang, who coached with the Chinese Olympic squads in 1980, 1984 and 1988.
The fourth, assistant coach Paul Mangen, has been competitive in the United States Lifesaving Association, where he has one individual national title as well as being named Team USA captain for the 2005 International Surf Challenge, which took place along the gold coast of Australia.
