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Cullen JONES
Sport Swimming
NOC United States   
GenderMen
Born29 Feb 1984 in New York, NY, USA
Height1.95 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Higher education
 English, Psychology - North Carolina State University: United States
General Interest
Famous relatives
 His distant relative Rodney Wallace played American football for the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive tackle. (usaswimming.org, 03 Jul 2016)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
 His mother enrolled him in swimming lessons after he almost drowned on a water ride at a theme park at age five. "My mother did not know how to swim. My father somewhat knew how to swim. I decided I wanted to get on the biggest rides that my dad went on. So I ended up going on this ride, flipping upside down. What's important about this is that I was entirely supervised. My parents were there, there were lifeguards there, and I was still able to go under water."
General Interest
Hero / Idol
 US swimmer Gary Hall Jr., US basketball player Michael Jordan. (usaswimming.org, 16 Jun 2017; examiner.com, 16 Jun 2015)
Awards and honours
 In 2018 he was inducted into the North Carolina State University Hall of Fame. He was the second North Carolina State University swimmer [after David Fox] to have won an NCAA title and an Olympic gold medal. (gopack.com, 29 Aug 2018)

In 2006 he received the Breakout Performer of the Year award at US Swimming's Golden Goggles Awards. (US Swimming, 06 Mar 2007)
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
 He began swimming at age eight in Irvington, NJ, United States of America.
International Debut
Year
 2006
Competing for
 United States
Further Personal Information
Occupation
 Coach, Development Officer, Motivational Speaker
Languages
 English
General Interest
Nicknames
 CJ, Nova (usaswimming.org, 16 Jun 2017)
Other information
 RETIREMENT
He first considered retiring after missing qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Instead he left SwimMAC Carolina and coach David Marsh, and joined the Wolfpack Elite programme at North Carolina State University in the United States of America. He was inspired by the performance of his friend Anthony Ervin, who at age 35 won gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games. "Part of me felt like, 'If he can do it, I can do it, so why should I stop?'" In early 2020 he announced his retirement from competitive swimming to focus on other interests and USA Swimming's 'Male a Splash' programme, which helps children in disadvantaged communities learn to swim. "Access isn't necessarily the issue for encouraging young African-Americans to swim, it's changing the mindset that they don't swim." (olympics.nbcsports.com, 02 Jul 2020; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 14 Jun 2017; Facebook page, 23 Jan 2020; usaswimmingfoundation.org, 16 Nov 2017; theundefeated.com, 10 Aug 2016)
Further Personal Information
Residence
 Charlotte, NC, USA
General Interest
Hobbies
 Fashion design, playing video games, spending time with friends, going to amusement parks. (Twitter profile, 22 Jan 2020; usaswimming.org, 16 Jun 2017)
Further Personal Information
Family
 Wife Rupi, son Ayvn [2019]
General Interest
Most influential person in career
 His father Ronald, and coach Ed Nessel. (usaswimming.org, 16 Jun 2017)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
14 2012 London, ENG 100m Freestyle 48.60
2 2012 London, ENG 50m Freestyle 21.54 
2 2012 London, ENG 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.38
1 2012 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
1 2008 Beijing, CHN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:08.24
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2011 Shanghai, CHN 50m Butterfly 24.19
Heats 2011 Shanghai, CHN 50m Freestyle 22.37
5 2009 Rome, ITA 50m Freestyle 21.47
1 2009 Rome, ITA 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay  
2 2007 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 50m Freestyle 21.94
1 2007 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:12.72
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
2 2006 Shanghai, CHN 50m Freestyle 21.52
3 2006 Shanghai, CHN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay