Jordan Crooks sets new world record in Budapest on Saturday, 14th December, giving the Cayman Islands its first ever world record in any sport.
By Stuart Wilson
Caymanian swimmer Jordan Crooks is now among the fastest swimmers to ever live, bringing home the gold medal from the the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Duna Arena in Budapest, setting two world records in the process and becoming the first person ever to swim the 50 freestyle in less than 20 seconds.
Coming in with a world record time of 20.08 seconds in the first heat of the 50 free, Crooks told reporters pool side that he was thinking, “…just try and stay in the process,” adding that he would continue to prepare for the semi-finals and try to to do even better.
His comments would prove to be prophetic, as he ended up breaking that world record on the same day and swimming the race with a time of 19.90 seconds.
Crooks knocked 0.23 off of his previous lifetime best of 20.31 with the first world record swim and then shaved off even more time in the semi-final to become the fastest person in history in the 50 freestyle.
Upon breaking the record for the second time in one day Crooks noted: “…Happy to be here. Happy to have done it one time. So to break it a second time, it’s something even cooler.”
The previous record of 20.16 was set by Caeleb Dressel back in 2020.
Crooks’ most recent fete came after the 22-year-old captured the bronze medal in the 100 meter freestyle World Aquatics Swimming Championships on Thursday; a race in which he also flirted with breaking the world record in the heats.
He was initially seeded 23rd before catapulting himself to the top of the world rankings with his most recent record shattering performances in Budapest.
The Gold medal is Jordan’s second international medal for Cayman and a flawless defence of his title in the race.
He currently swims for the Tennessee Volunteers swim team, where in his freshman year, he swam a freshman record (18.53) in the 50 yard freestyle, as well as a freshman record (41.44), in the 100 yard freestyle.
24 records have been broken at this year’s World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Duna Arena in Budapest, with each record bringing a 25,000 dollar (23,800 euro) bonus cheque from World Aquatics, according the Fox Sports.
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