In a new national record time of 21.51 seconds, swimmer Jordan Crooks has advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s 50-metre freestyle at the Olympic Games.
Crooks took to the Paris La Defense Arena once more, this time in heat 10 of the 50m free, where he finished second over the likes of USA’s Caeleb Dressel, and is seeded as the second-fastest swimmer going into the semi-finals.
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy clocked the fastest time in the heats, ahead of Crooks, after posting a time of 21.32.
“Its a good swim. I think it could be, hopefully a little faster but I’m grateful to have a PB. So, regardless of what happens I’m grateful for that… on to semis,” Crooks said after his race.
“Last year was Worlds and that was a huge PB for me then, so, just trying to use that as the standard to jump past that, beat those times. I wasn’t able to do that in the 100 but I’m happy to be able to do it in the 50.”
Crooks, who completed his 100m free campaign earlier in the week, finishing 13th overall in the French capital, noted that making the finals is the goal. The possibility of him doing that is higher this go around considering the 50m is the race he excels most at.
His result in the winter of 2022 is the most notable example, where he bested many of those he is competing against in Paris, to win gold at the FINA Short Course World Championships.
At the 2023 long course World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he made the 50m final but came up 0.15 seconds shy of a bronze medal.
But his focus is now on the task ahead. He admits he needs to be near perfect if he is to achieve his goal of an Olympic final and perhaps a podium place.
“Mistakes will be a lot more costly than the 100, so it has to be a lot cleaner the entire way through,” Crooks added.
In addition to Crooks’ semi-finals on Thursday, countrywoman Charlotte Webster will also be competing for Cayman around the same time, when she sets sail in the women’s dinghy event.
Cayman at the Olympics: How and where to watch
Thursday
Men’s 50m freestyle semi-finals: 1:44pm on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Women’s dinghy race: From 1:35am on EuroSport.
Friday
Men’s 50m freestyle final (medal event): 1:30pm on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Saturday
Men’s 100m prelims: 3:35 am on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
- CBC, Eurosport and BBC are also carrying similar coverage for those that have access. If you know of any other channels to access Cayman athletes at the Olympics from Cayman let us know by emailing [email protected].
- Further updates on Team Cayman schedule to follow later in the week.
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