Cullen Jones

Jones at St. Benedict's with Headmaster Fr. Edwin Leahy
Personal information
Full name	Cullen Andrew Jones
National team	United States
Born	(1984-02-29)February 29, 1984 (age 41) New York City,New York, U.S.
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Wolfpack Elite
College team	North 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 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle 2012 London 4×100 m medley 2012 London 50 m freestyle 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) 2007 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle 2009 Rome 4×100 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 50 m freestyle World Championships (SC) 2006 Shanghai 50 m freestyle 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships 2006 Victoria 50 m freestyle 2006 Victoria 4×100 m freestyle Pan American Games 2015 Toronto 4×100 m freestyle Universiade 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 infreestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds theworld record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (long course). At the2012 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.

Born onLeap day of 1984^[2] in theBronx borough of New York City, Jones moved toIrvington, New Jersey, while in elementary school. He learned to swim after he was rescued from a near-drowning at a splash-down pool atDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom inPennsylvania 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 fromSaint Benedict's Preparatory School inNewark in 2002. While there, he swam for coach Glenn Cassidy and set numerousEssex County swimming records.

Jones attendedNorth Carolina State University, where he studied English and swam for theNC State Wolfpack swimming and diving team in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2003 to 2006.

He turned professional in the summer of 2006, after signing withNike^[4] and burst onto the scene shortly after at the2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships where he set ameet record in the50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.84 seconds. He also swam a leg (split of 47.96) in the world record breaking4×100-meter freestyle relay along withMichael Phelps,Neil Walker andJason Lezak.

In 2007, he also won a gold medal in4×100-meter freestyle relay with the same teammates in the2007 World Aquatics Championships.

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 the2008 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 byGarrett Weber-Gale. At the2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, he won a gold medal in the4×100-meter freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:08.24 with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale.^[6]

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

At the2012 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 finisherAnthony Ervin (21.60).^[8]

2012 Summer Olympics
	4x100 m medley relay	3:29.35
	50 m freestyle	21.54
	4x100 m freestyle relay	3:10.38

At the2012 Summer Olympics in London, Jones won silver medals in the50-meter freestyle and the4×100-meter freestyle relay.^[9] He earned a gold medal in the4×100-meter medley relay after swimming the freestyle leg in the preliminaries.^[10][11] He also competed in the100-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 andLia Neal by being the three African-Americans on the team.^[13]

Key: NR = National record

• Diversity in swimming
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of United States records in swimming
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
• List of world records in swimming
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay

• Official website
• Cullen Jones atWorld Aquatics
• Cullen Jones atOlympics.com
• Cullen Jones at Olympic.org (archived)
• Cullen Jones atOlympedia
• Cullen Jones atUSA Swimming (archived June 2, 2021)
• Cullen Jones atTeam USA (archive March 18, 2023)
• Parting the Waters – Documentary film about Cullen Jones at DoTellProductions.com

• 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

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