Caymanian sibling swimmers Jordan and Jillian Crooks secured personal best times and national records, respectively, during the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, held on 18-25 June.
Jordan, who became the fastest freshman freestyler in National Collegiate Athletic Association history earlier this year, notched up a new personal best during his 100-metre freestyle heat, which he won in a time of 48.79 seconds.
The 20-year-old University of Tennessee freshman shattered his entry time of 50.25 and was .32 seconds off the long-standing national record set by Cayman Olympian Shaune Fraser in 2009.
“It was a great race,” Jordan said in an interview posted on the Cayman Swimming Facebook page. “I felt really good, sharp in the water and I’m pretty pleased with my results.”
He finished 21st in a field of 99 competitors.
Jordan then went on to compete in the 50m freestyle on Thursday, 23 June, swimming a record time of 22.20 seconds to claim the new national record. His time was .8 seconds off from qualifying for the semi-finals.
His sister Jillian, who became the Cayman Islands’ youngest Olympian after competing in Tokyo last year, clocked in at 57.24 seconds during her 100m free inside the Duna Arena pool.
Her time was enough to improve the previous national record of 57.32, which she set during her Olympic debut.
Jillian went on to compete in the preliminary 50m free on Friday, where she turned in a time of 26.75.
“I had so much fun in that race,” she said. “I am happy that I got the new national record.”
She added, “Budapest is a very lovely place; I can’t wait to come back here and visit with my family.”
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