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Kia puts 2025 on high ‘Alert’
January 29, 2025
Jamaica's 13-year-old swimming sensation Kia Alert has signalled her intent to continue her record-breaking form as she now moves up into the 13-14 age group after her dominant showing last year.
Alert enjoyed a successful 2024 season where she ended the year as a multi-gold medallist as well as capturing four national titles along the way.
Alert holds multiple records in the age 11-12 age group category as she set a new national mark of 33.85 seconds in the 50m breaststroke as well as a time of one minute, 17.91 seconds in the 100m breaststroke.
She had also set a new 10-12 age group national record in the 50m freestyle when she raced to a time of 29.51 and holds the record in the same event for the 11-12 age group when she stopped the clock 27.28.
Her impressive season also saw her walking away with the 2024 Aquatics Athlete of the Year at the RJRGLEANER Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year award ceremony earlier this month.
She said accepting the honour was a moment of a lifetime as she reflected on her impressive season.
"I am now 13 years old and receiving this recognition now is definitely a life-changing experience which I will cherish forever.
"Throughout the year I broke four national records, many meet records, and received high point trophies which I appreciated. But at the end of the day I knew that these were just first steps," Alert said.
Having already returned to the pool in 2025, competing at the ISSA High Schools and Tertiary Swim Meet last week, Alert is ready to seek further success this year.
"My coach and I certainly do have our goals and each day I go to training we get closer and closer to reaching them," she said. "Some are training goals and others are for competition. Certainly I have reached some goals of my own and when I do I create new goals to push myself harder."
She continued, "While heading into 2025, I continue to train hard and I have many goals but the year is full of surprises so I will see where it takes me."
In her first event of the year, Alert showed stepping up an age group would not be problem as she dominated her rivals at the ISSA High Schools and Tertiary Swim meet.
Alert, representing Hillel Academy, took home the High Point award as she ended the meet with five gold medals and a silver medal to her name.
She took home gold in the 13-14 age group in the 50m breaststroke, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and the 200m medley relay.
She also impressed the crowd when she won gold in the 100m breaststroke, edging out opponents from both tertiary and high school teams.
Alert, who holds aspirations of competing for Jamaica on the Olympic stage, is looking forward to achieving more milestones in her career.
