Speedster Cullen Jones Absent From Nationals Psych Sheets

2018 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, July 25 – Sunday, July 29, 2018
• William Woollett Aquatics Center, Irvine, CA
• Prelims 9 AM / Finals 6 PM (U.S. Pacific Time)
• Meet website
• Meet information
• Event Order
• Full selection procedures

Olympian Cullen Jones has a knack for staying under the radar during the racing season only to pull out eye-popping performances when it counts. At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Jones crushed a time of 50m free final time of 21.75 to fall just .23 shy of qualifying for Rio. At last year’s U.S. Nationals, the 34-year-old pulled out a splash n’ dash time of 21.89 to just narrowly miss another international squad, finishing behind winner Caeleb Dressel and runner-up Nathan Adrian.

We initially picked Jones to be in the mix for a top 8 finish in Irvine next week, but the Wolfpack Elite swimmer is absent from the entries. He has raced this year, producing a 22.78 in mid-April at the TYR Pro Swim in Mesa, a mark which ranks him in the top 15 Americans for 2018. His lifetime best rests at the 21.40 thrown down way back in 2009.

Although not robustly active racing in the pool, Jones has been making appearances at swim clinics and providing drowning prevention support.

We have reached out to Jones for comment on his near future plans.