The Cayman Islands community turned out in numbers, filling the arrival halls at the Owen Roberts International Airport to welcome home siblings Jillian and Jordan Crooks who represented the nation at the world championship.
Many in the crowd on Tuesday, 17 Dec., held up encouraging signs and Cayman flags, and prideful tears were visible on the faces of some as they chanted Jordan’s and his sister’s name.
During the homecoming, the crowd began singing a remix of a Cayman folksong: “Jordan bringing it home now, Jordan bringing it home, when you talk about Caymankind, Jordan bringing it home,” which echoed through the halls for all arriving and leaving to hear.
Before entering the arrivals hall, the siblings were greeted by government officials, family and close friends on the runway tarmac.
Jordan Crooks, 22, who left Budapest as the fastest swimmer on the planet told the Compass that the support he has received from Cayman during and after his monumental medal-winning performances is something he does not take for granted.
“I’m not the biggest social media person, I’m not super active, and I’m pretty bad at responding to messages, but I could see and feel the support,” Crooks said.
“It definitely played a huge role in not just being confident, but remaining confident because to go from the semis and then to finals, you have to have confidence, and it takes a lot of mental power, and just knowing that the whole island was behind me and supporting me, it’s really cool to rely on.”
The praise from the community was further fueled by his electric performances at the 2024 world short course championships, where lightning struck twice for the Caymanian.
Crooks broke the world record on two separate occasions in the 50-metre freestyle – first at 20.08 and then 19.90 – prior to winning his second world championship in that event on 15 Dec.
When asked if his achievement at the world championship had fully set in, Crooks responded, “I definitely think it is an amazing experience, it is hard to put into words.”
He added, “There were times, when I was younger, I thought I wasn’t going to be swimming anymore, so the main thing that I can feel throughout all of this, getting on the podium, getting a record and even getting back home and feeling the support from the Cayman people, I’m just grateful.”
‘It was all in him’
One person who has been a part of Crooks’ journey from the very beginning is his father Jimmy Crooks – a man of few words.
He noted the importance of keeping the attention on his boy and said that his son’s success is a testament to his hard work and staying true to his childhood dream.
“It was overwhelming, to say the least,” Jimmy said, while holding back his emotions. “I remember when he was very young, I took him to a sea swim and introduced him to Shaun and Brett [Fraser], and he stood there looking up at them. And they said to Jordan, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’, and he said ‘I want to go to the Olympics’, and he did. That meant the world to me.
“I really, really, really admire the young man but I want to emphasise the fact that we didn’t do it, it was all in him and all we did was help him to bring it out, but it’s all about him.”
Among the supporters were many athletes, like former swimmer Heather Harvey (née Roffey) and Nick Young, who recently captured gold at the Commonwealth championships.
However, there were some athletes in attendance at the airport who have swimming aspirations and are inspired by Crooks, like Calvin Hitt, who swims with the Camana Bay Aquatic Club – Crooks’ old team.
“It’s the biggest deal for our team,” Hitt said. “I was, like, oh my gosh, someone from my team is swimming in the world championships and won one of the most difficult races to win in.”
When asked if he’d like to follow in Crooks’ footsteps and reach the pinnacle of the sport someday, he convincingly responded, “Yes.”
The homecoming at the airport is the first government-organised event for this week, but the celebrations will continue at the weekend.
An appreciation event is scheduled to take place on Cardinal Avenue, on Saturday, 21 Dec., at 6-8:30pm, and all are invited to attend.
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