Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

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 organization ...

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) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, 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 February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to leap years. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth's revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in m ...

of 1984 in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

borough of New York City, Jones moved to

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.82 ...

, 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 American amusement and water park located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features 64 rides, including six roller coasters, other ad ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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. Jones graduated from

Saint Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accred ...

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) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

, 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) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

swimming and diving team in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) competition from 2003 to 2006.

2006

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

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

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, Canada, from August 17–20. Six world records A world record is usually the best global and mo ...

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 med ...

Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ...

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, spannin ...

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 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 graduated from Nic ...

. At the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

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 Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...

(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 The ''Atlanta Black Star'' is the largest black-owned digital publication in the United States. The publication is based in Atlanta, Georgia which focuses on the African American perspective on politics. It was founded in 2012 by Neil "Jelani" ...

''. 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 https://olympics.com/en/athletes/cullen-jones {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Cullen 1984 births Living people African-American Christians African-American sportsmen 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 Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming People 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 Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Universiade medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming Universiade gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games