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Atkinson-Wignall Named Head Coach at Fairfield

Fairfield University Director of Athletics Eugene P. Doris has announced that Janelle Atkinson-Wignall has been named head coach of the Stags men’s and women’s swimming & diving program. Atkinson-Wignall becomes the sixth head coach and the first female head coach in program history. She comes to Fairfield after spending four years as an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut.
 
“Janelle is a great fit to build upon the foundation of our program and bring it to new heights,” Doris said. “She has experienced first-hand competitive swimming at the highest level as an athlete and uses that competitive edge in her coaching. In addition, we’re confident that her enthusiasm and dedication to the sport will help Fairfield Swimming & Diving flourish.”
 
In her role at UConn, Atkinson-Wignall served as recruiting coordinator for both the men’s and women’s teams and worked primarily with the distance and middle distance freestylers, helping the team set numerous records. Before joining the Huskies, Atkinson-Wignall spent four seasons at Wright State University, coaching the distance group and directing the fundraising swim lesson program. On the international stage, Atkinson-Wignall was selected as the head coach for the Jamaican National Team at the 2009 Swimming World Championships in Rome, Italy. In July 2013, USA Swimming appointed her head coach for the first Southern Zone Diversity Summer Select Camp.
 
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Atkinson-Wignall is a two-time Olympian who competed in the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2004 Athens Games. She finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle and ninth in the 800-meter freestyle in Sydney. For the 2012 London Olympic Games, she returned home and served as a swimming broadcast analyst which was aired throughout the entire Caribbean. She medaled at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, and the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. In addition, she is a seven-time recipient of the Jamaican Swimmer of the Year award and a six-time nominee for the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year.
 
The 1999-2000 National High School Swimmer of the Year, Atkinson-Wignall earned 10 All-America honors while competing at the University of Florida. She received three First Team All-Southeastern Conference accolades, had three top-three finishes in three years at the NCAA Championships, and was a three-time SEC Champion. Atkinson-Wignall, who graduated in 2005, was also part of the 2002 team that became SEC Champions and was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times.

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