Germantown Academy swimmer Emma Atkinson takes gold medals and top-swimmer award in stride

Emma Atkinson won three individual events and broke nine records at a premier prep-school swimming competition last month, but the Germantown Academy junior didn’t celebrate much after her first victory. She was too busy looking ahead to the next event.

“It wasn’t the typical fist-pump, slap-the-water kind of reaction,” Jeff Thompson, Atkinson’s coach at Germantown Academy, said of Atkinson’s post-victory demeanor. “It wasn’t arrogant or cocky. She saw what she did, and she was like, ‘OK, next race.’ "

Atkinson started off her weekend at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 15 by swimming the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 46.59 seconds. That landed her in first place and broke the meet, school, and Franklin and Marshall College pool records.

“She was excited,” Thompson said, "but she was thinking of how she could do even better.”

That kind of mind-set paid off for Atkinson on the second day of the meet, when she yet again came in first and set the pool, meet, and school records for swimming the 100 backstroke in 52.80. Her final three records came from swimming the 100 freestyle in 49.73 during the team’s 400 freestyle relay.

Atkinson also helped the Patriots come in first in the 200-yard medley relay with a collective time of 1:43.89.

“I knew I was capable of getting the records, but I wasn’t really aiming for that,” Atkinson said. “I just wanted to drop time and get my hand on the wall first.”

Atkinson’s spectacular weekend concluded with her being named female athlete of the meet, an honor given to those who not only performed well but also presented themselves in a positive manner while doing so.

“All the coaches at the meet vote on a specific person they think performed the best,” Atkinson said. “Not just athletically but someone who handled themselves well and performed in a way that reflects true grit. So it was pretty cool that they picked me.”

Atkinson has been setting the bar high, and reaching it, since she joined the Brookhaven Swim Club when she was 7.

During her first season of summer swimming, her natural talent was so apparent that her coach had her practice in the 10-year-old age group. He also placed her in the elite league, and she won all of her events at the biggest meet of the season.

That same natural talent stood out to Thompson when Atkinson first swam at Germantown Academy.

"I watched Emma push off the wall and do two kicks,” Thompson said. “After that, I just turned to her mom and said, ‘She’s a superstar.’ I watched how she carried herself underwater, and I didn’t need to see anymore. At that point, I just knew.”

Atkinson recently committed to Virginia Tech and said she never wants to stop swimming. That drive comes partly because of the joy and satisfaction that swimming brings her. It’s also because of her parents, Lou and Cheryl Atkinson.

“My mom and dad are my biggest motivation,” Atkinson said. “Whenever I wanted to give up swimming, they were always there to remind me to keep going, and they’ve always supported me. I’ve always wanted to do better for them as like a thank you, as a way to show them that they’ve taught me so much.”

Next, Atkinson’s focus is on balancing school with preparing for the summer nationals that are set for July.