Cullen Andrew Jones is an American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events.
Education
Jones graduated from Saint Benedict"s Preparatory School in Newark in 2002. Jones attended North Carolina State University, where he studied English and swam for the North Carolina State Wolfpack swimming and diving team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (National Collegiate Athletic Association) competition from 2003 to 2006.
Career
As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (long course). 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.
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 Editor Nessel.
Jones later switched teams to the Jersey Gators Swim Club in Cranford. While there, he swam for coach Glenn Cassidy and set numerous Essex County swimming records.
He turned professional in the summer of 2006, after signing with Nike 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 4796) in the world record breaking 4×100-meter freestyle relay along with Michael Phelps, Neil Walker and Jason Lezak.
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. In July 2009, Jones set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle at the United States. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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.
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.
Key: NR = National record.