From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cullen Jones (born February 29, 1984 in New York, New York) is an American freestyle sprint swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.
Early life
Born 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.[1] [2] He became an age-group swimmer at Metro Express, a club team at the Jewish Community Center in West Orange, NJ under head coach Ed Nessel. Jones later switched teams to the Jersey Gators Swim Club in Cranford, New Jersey, under head coach Lou Pettroziello. He attended Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, where he first started gaining recognition for his swimming.[3]
Swimming career
Jones attended North Carolina State University, where he was an English major with a minor in psychology. 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 m freestyle with a time of 21.84. He also swam a leg (split of 47.96) in the world record breaking 4×100 m freestyle relay along with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Neil Walker. In 2007, he also won a gold medal in 4×100 m freestyle relay with the same teammates in 2007 World Aquatics Championships
Jones is the first African-American to hold or share a world record (4×100 m freestyle relay) in swimming.[5] He is also the third African-American to make the US Olympic swimming team after Anthony Ervin and Maritza Correia. At the 2008 Olympic swimming 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. In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:08.24 with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale.
In July 2009, Jones set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, IN.[6]
He trains with David Marsh at the Center of Excellence at Mecklenburg Aquatic Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Best times
- SC 50y Free - 19.07 2006 ACC Conference Championships
- SC 50m Free - 21.31, 2006 World Short Course Championships
- LC 50m Free - 21.41, July 2009 USA ConocoPhillips Nationals
- LC 100m Free - 48.31, July 2008 USA Olympic Trials
References
- ^ http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-wildwater-opening-052209-cn,0,1990432.story
- ^ http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/SummerSizzle/story?id=5429503&page=1
- ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. "U.S. Swimmer Hopes to Inspire", The New York Times, August 3, 2008. Accessed August 10, 2008.
- ^ Swimming World Magazine - Swimming News
- ^ "What's on TV Thursday night", New York Daily News, July 31, 2008. Accessed August 10, 2008.
- ^ "Jones sets American record in 50 free", "Associated Press", July 12, 2009.
External links
| Olympic Champions in Men's 4×100 m Freestyle Relay |
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1964: USA (Clark, Austin, Ilman, Schollander) | 1968: USA (Zorn, Rerych, Spitz, Walsh) | 1972: USA (Edgar, Murphy, Heidenreich, Spitz) | 1984: USA (Cavanaugh, Heath, Biondi, Gaines) | 1988: USA (Jacobs, Dalbey, Jager, Biondi) | 1992: USA (Hudepohl, Biondi, Jager, Olsen) | 1996: USA (Olsen, Davis, Schumacher, Hall, Jr.) | 2000: Australia (Klim, Fydler, Callus, Thorpe) | 2004: South Africa (Schoeman, Ferns, Townsend, Neethling) | 2008: USA (Phelps, Weber-Gale, Jones, Lezak)
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| Pan Pacific Champions in Men's 4×100 m Freestyle Relay |
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1985: USA (McCadam, Heath, Wallace, Biondi) • 1987: USA (Jacobs, Oppel, Dalbey, Biondi) • 1989: USA (Lang, Olsen, Gjertsen, Jager) • 1991: USA (Jordan, Jager, Olsen, Biondi) • 1993: USA (Hudepohl, Pepper, Fox, Olsen) • 1995: USA (Fox, Hudepohl, Olsen, Hall) • 1997: USA (Tucker, Schumacher, Olsen, Walker) • 1999: AUS (Klim, English, Fydler, Thorpe) • 2002: AUS (Callus, Pearson, Hackett, Thorpe) • 2006: USA (Phelps, Walker, Jones, Lezak)
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