Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (long course). At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, 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

Born on

Leap day A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to kee ...

of 1984 in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

borough of New York City, Jones moved to

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 61,176, an increase of 7,250 (+13.4%) from the 2010 Uni ...

, 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 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an Amusement park, amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown, in the United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, Six Flags Entertainment Corpor ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

when he was five years old. 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

Jones attended

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

, where he studied English and swam for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

swimming and diving team in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) competition from 2003 to 2006.

2006

He turned professional in the summer of 2006, after signing with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and burst onto the scene shortly after at the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six List of world records in swimming, worl ...

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 Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

, Neil Walker and

Jason Lezak Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive. As a swimmer, Lezak specialized in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. His pro career lasted for nearly fifteen years, spanning ...

2007

In 2007, he also won a gold medal in 4×100-meter freestyle relay with the same teammates in the

2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...

2008 Summer Olympics

Jones is the first African-American to hold a world record (4×100-meter freestyle relay) in swimming. 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 Garrett Weber-Gale (born August 6, 1985) is an American competition swimming (sport), swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events. Early life Weber-Gale is Jewish, and was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He ...

. At the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

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.

2009

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

2012

2012 US Olympic Trials

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).

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

in London, Jones won silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay after swimming the freestyle leg in the preliminaries. He also competed in the 100-meter freestyle, but did not qualify for the event finals. 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."Black Swimmers Have Historic Presence in London Olympics"
'' Atlanta Black Star''. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

Personal bests (long course)

Key: NR = National record

References

External links

* * * * * *
''Parting the Waters''
– Documentary film about Cullen Jones at DoTellProductions.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Cullen 1984 births Living people African-American Christians African-American swimmers American male freestyle swimmers Baptists from New York (state) Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics NC State Wolfpack men's swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Irvington, New Jersey St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni Sportspeople from the Bronx Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in swimming 21st-century American sportsmen