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Cullen Jones

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Cullen Jones
Jones at St. Benedict's with Headmaster Fr. Edwin Leahy
Personal information
Full nameCullen Andrew Jones
National team United States
Born (1984-02-29) February 29, 1984 (age 40)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight210 lb (95 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubWolfpack Elite
College teamNorth Carolina State University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  United States
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 2 0
World Championships (LC) 2 1 0
World Championships (SC) 0 1 1
Pan Pacific Championships 2 0 0
Pan American Games 0 0 1
Universiade 1 0 0
Total 7 4 2
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 50 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2007 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2009 Rome 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2007 Melbourne 50 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Victoria 50 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Victoria 4×100 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Toronto 4×100 m freestyle
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2005 Izmir 50 m freestyle

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

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Born 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

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Jones 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

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He 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

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In 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

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See also: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 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

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In July 2009, Jones set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.[7]

2012

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2012 US Olympic Trials

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At 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

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See also: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 4x100 m medley relay 3:29.35
Silver medal – second place 50 m freestyle 21.54
Silver medal – second place 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)

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Event Time Date
50 m freestyle 21.40 July 2009
100 m freestyle 48.31 July 2008

Key: NR = National record

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cullen Jones announces retirement on Brett Hawke podcast". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "Cullen Jones". Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 73. Gale. 2009. ISSN 1058-1316. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Olympian Seeks to Highlight Swimming in African-American Community - ABC News". ABC News.
  4. ^ Swimming World Magazine – Swimming News Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Jones sets American record in 50 free"[dead link], "Associated Press", July 12, 2009.
  8. ^ Tjarks, Jonathan (July 2012). "2012 Olympic Swimming Trials: Cullen Jones wins 50M Free, Anthony Ervin Qualifies". sbnation.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  9. ^ Brady, Erik (August 3, 2012). "USA's Cullen Jones gets oh so close to an Olympic Dream". usatoday.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Black Swimmers Have Historic Presence in London Olympics". Atlanta Black Star. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
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