North Carolina State University Athletics
Cullen Jones Wins Swimming Gold at World University Games
8/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Aug. 17, 2005
• 20 Questions With Cullen (USASwimming.org)
Cullen Jones continued his dominance in the pool as he prepares for his final collegiate season at NC State as one of the top sprinters in ACC history. Jones won gold at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey after an amazing 22.17 in the 50 meter freestyle, a Games record. He used that performance to move to the finals as the top seed, and his time of 22.22 placed first in the event. The 22.17 was a mere half of a second off of the current world record and makes Jones the seventh fastest swimmer in the world and is second in the nation for 2005.
Jones has won four ACC Championships in the last two season, including back-to-back 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard free in 2004. He was also the anchor of the Wolfpack's 200 medley relay team that set and ACC record in winning the event at the ACC Championships and qualifying the team for the NCAA Championship.
"I don't know where that came from," Jones said after his World University Games record swim. "I know it might be cliché, but that's how I feel. It felt like a blur the whole time. I guess everything came together. After the race, I looked back at the wall and thought, `That's not right'. All the hard work I've put in this summer finally paid off."
Jones and the Wolfpack swimming and diving team will jump back in the pool with their annual Red-White meet on October 7.
