Another event, another Cayman Islands national record and another world championship final for Jordan Crooks, who advanced to the men’s 50-metre freestyle gold medal race in Japan with a time of 21.73 seconds.
Crooks, 21, first knocked three tenths of a second off his old own national record from last summer in the heats of the event on Friday morning in Japan (Thursday evening in Cayman), winning his preliminary heat swim in a time of 21.90. As well as being another Olympic ‘A’ cut that automatically qualifies Crooks for the 2024 Paris Olympics, that time progressed the Caribbean’s leading sprinter to the semifinal as the joint seventh fastest swimmer alongside the defending champion, Britain’s Ben Proud.
Later that day, in the early morning hours of 28 July in Cayman, Crooks’ semifinal swim then lowered his mark as the fastest Caymanian in history and saw him charge into the event’s final as the fifth fastest qualifier.
That final, which is scheduled for 6:09am Cayman time on 29 July, could give the history-making Crooks a shot at the podium.
“He swam really good – extremely good, actually,” said Jacky Pellerin, technical director of the Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association. “For the first time he made 50[-metres] without breathing at all.”
Pellerin added that where Crooks felt some nerves competing amongst the best swimmers on the planet as he secured his first world title last year, the 21-year-old is more relaxed in Fukuoka – setting out to “do his job, and do it well.”
Following his seventh placed finish in the 100m freestyle final on 27 July, Crooks’ appearance in Saturday morning’s 50m championship decider will be his second finals swim at these World Championships.
First up, though, is Crooks’ younger sister, Jillian. She shattered her own national record in the 100m freestyle earlier this week, and will be back behind the blocks for the women’s 50m freestyle tonight (28 July) at 8:44pm Cayman time.
| Swimmer | Event | Date | Time (Cayman Islands) |
| Jordan Crooks | 50m freestyle (final) | 29 July | 6:09am |
| Jillian Crooks | 50m freestyle (heats) | 28 July | 8:44pm |
Remaining event schedule for Cayman’s swimmers at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Every session of racing at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships is streamed live on subscription television service Peacock, while results and a full schedule of events can be found on the World Aquatics website.
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