Downtown George Town on Saturday night was filled with the cheers of a crowd reliving the pride of watching Cayman’s own Jordan Crooks break a world record twice in a day and become a world champion for the second time.
A two-minute video of his incredible accomplishments at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last week was played on a giant screen on a stage erected on Cardinall Avenue, as hundreds of the swimmer’s fans gathered to celebrate the young man, who is now the fastest swimmer in the world.
Crooks became the first person to swim 50 metres freestyle in under 20 seconds, setting a new world record of 19.9 seconds on 14 Dec. With that swim, he broke the world record he had set just hours earlier.
Surrounded by family members, all wearing shirts with the legend ‘Crooks’ emblazoned on the back, the swimmer, in the front row, watched on the big screen with the crowd as he entered the record books.
After being lauded by Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan and Sports Minister Isaac Rankine, the unassuming Crooks took to the stage, where he thanked his parents, James and Faith, saying, “Without them, I wouldn’t even be here today. They’re the reason I’m standing on this stage today.”
“My sister, my siblings, I love you all to death,” he said as he called on the audience to give a round of applause to sister Jillian, who set two national records at the World Championships.
He thanked relatives, coaches, friends and everyone who had supported him throughout the years, many of whom were in the audience Saturday night, and said, “Everyone here is family. This is Cayman.”
He added, “I just want to say, thank you very much. I appreciate all the support more than you will ever know. I’m proud to be Caymanian. Go, Cayman!”
‘The fastest man in the world swimming in the best oceans in the world’
Bryan, who is also Cayman’s tourism minister, said he hoped Crooks could become a tourism ambassador for the Cayman Islands.
“My job, as the minister of tourism, is to brand the Cayman Islands as the best Caribbean island in the whole world. And how lucky are we to have the best swimmer in the whole world, as a Caymanian,” he said.
He told Crooks, “You see the water you swim in? That’s what I sell every day in tourism. So, I can see you in a beautiful advert across the globe – ‘The fastest man in the world swimming in the best oceans in the world’.”
Noting that the social media buzz around Crooks is “the hottest I’ve ever seen”, Bryan encouraged the swimmer to “tell the world where you came from, tell them about the many hours of sacrifice by yourself, your family and your friends and coaches, because that’s a story everybody wants to know about.”
Ventisha Conolly, events manager at the Ministry of Sports, who was the MC for the evening, pointed out to the audience just before a highlight reel of Crooks’ epic swims in Budapest was played, that World Aquatics had said the clip of him swimming a sub-20-second 50 metres had been viewed more than two million times.
“It would not be a celebration if we didn’t watch it one more time,” she said, as the sight of Crooks slashing his way through the Budapest pool and smashing his way into the record books was replayed.
‘Proof of what can be accomplished’
Rankine told the crowd that Crooks, by establishing himself as one of the greatest swimmers of all time, had reinforced to the international sporting community that the Cayman Islands is producing strong, competitive athletes, not just in swimming, but in other athletic disciplines as well.”
Addressing the young champion, Rankine told him, “Jordan, you’re proof of what can be accomplished when you’re focused, determined and committed to success. Your journey is not just a personal triumph, it’s a beacon of inspiration for athletes, encouraging them to strive for excellence in their chosen fields.
“Your representation as a sports ambassador for the Cayman Islands remains evident in your services as a role model, promoting positive values of sports, physical activity, health and wellbeing.”
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