Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former[1] competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (long course). At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won silver medals in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and the 50-meter freestyle, as well as the gold in the 4 x 100-metre medley.
Childhood
editBorn on Leap day of 1984[2] in the Bronx borough of New York City, Jones moved to Irvington, New Jersey, while in elementary school. He learned to swim after he was rescued from a near-drowning at a splash-down pool at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania when he was five years old.[2][3] He became an age-group swimmer at Metro Express, a club team at the Jewish Community Center in West Orange, New Jersey under head coach Ed Nessel. Jones later switched teams to the Jersey Gators Swim Club in Cranford under Lou Petroziello. Jones graduated from Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark in 2002. While there, he swam for coach Glenn Cassidy and set numerous Essex County swimming records.
Swimming career
editJones attended North Carolina State University, where he studied English and swam for the NC State Wolfpack swimming and diving team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2003 to 2006.
2006
editHe turned professional in the summer of 2006, after signing with Nike[4] and burst onto the scene shortly after at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships where he set a meet record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.84 seconds. He also swam a leg (split of 47.96) in the world record breaking 4×100-meter freestyle relay along with Michael Phelps, Neil Walker and Jason Lezak.
2007
editIn 2007, he also won a gold medal in 4×100-meter freestyle relay with the same teammates in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships.
2008 Summer Olympics
edit| 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
4x100 m freestyle relay | 3:08.24 (WR) |
Jones is the first African-American to hold a world record (4×100-meter freestyle relay) in swimming.[5] At the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, Jones broke the American record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.59. The record was subsequently broken the next day by Garrett Weber-Gale. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, he won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:08.24 with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale.[6]
2009
editIn July 2009, Jones set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.[7]
2012
edit2012 US Olympic Trials
editAt the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Olympics, Jones made the Olympic team for the second time by finishing first in the 50-meter freestyle and second in the 100-meter freestyle, which subsequently qualified him for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 50-meter freestyle final, Jones won with a time of 21.59, one one-hundredth (0.01) of a second ahead of second-place finisher Anthony Ervin (21.60).[8]
2012 Summer Olympics
edit| 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| |
4x100 m medley relay | 3:29.35 |
 |
50 m freestyle | 21.54 |
| |
4x100 m freestyle relay | 3:10.38 |
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Jones won silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.[9] He earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay after swimming the freestyle leg in the preliminaries.[10][11] He also competed in the 100-meter freestyle, but did not qualify for the event finals.[6][12]
The 2012 U.S. Olympic swim team was the first U.S. Olympic swim team with more than one black swimmer on it, Jones made history with Anthony Ervin and Lia Neal by being the three African-Americans on the team.[13]
Personal bests (long course)
edit| Event | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 21.40 | July 2009 |
| 100 m freestyle | 48.31 | July 2008 |
Key: NR = National record
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Cullen Jones announces retirement on Brett Hawke podcast". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Cullen Jones". Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 73. Gale. 2009. ISSN 1058-1316. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Olympian Seeks to Highlight Swimming in African-American Community - ABC News". ABC News.
- ^ Swimming World Magazine – Swimming News Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "What's on TV Thursday night" Archived June 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, New York Daily News, July 31, 2008. Accessed August 10, 2008.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Cullen Jones". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
- ^ "Jones sets American record in 50 free"[dead link], "Associated Press", July 12, 2009.
- ^ Tjarks, Jonathan (July 2012). "2012 Olympic Swimming Trials: Cullen Jones wins 50M Free, Anthony Ervin Qualifies". sbnation.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Brady, Erik (August 3, 2012). "USA's Cullen Jones gets oh so close to an Olympic Dream". usatoday.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Swimming: U.S. qualifies for men's medley relay". ca.retuters.com. August 3, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Forde, Pat (August 4, 2012). "Michael Phelps swims into retirement with 18th Olympic Gold on U.S. 400 Medley Relay Team". yahoo.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Smith, Jared (August 2012). "Men's 100-Meter Freestyle Final: USA's Cullen Jones Misses Final, Nathan Adrian Wins Gold". sbnation.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Black Swimmers Have Historic Presence in London Olympics". Atlanta Black Star. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
External links
edit- Official website
- Cullen Jones at World Aquatics
- Cullen Jones at Olympics.com
- Cullen Jones at Olympic.org (archived)
- Cullen Jones at Olympedia
- Cullen Jones at USA Swimming (archived June 2, 2021)
- Cullen Jones at Team USA (archive March 18, 2023)
- Parting the Waters – Documentary film about Cullen Jones at DoTellProductions.com
