Jordan Crooks is the 2022 World Champion (SCM) in the 50 free and the first Caymanian to win a medal of any color at the swimming world championships. He is and NCAA Champion and the 2nd swimmer ever to break the 18-second barrier in the 50y freestyle.
On July 11, 2020, Jordan Crooks announced his verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee. Crooks has represented his country internationally at a number of Caribbean-centric meets, including the 2019 CARIFTA Swimming Championships. At that meet, he won the 200 free title in the 15-17 age group. His Best times as of July 2020 are as follows:
Best Times in Long Course Meters & Short Course Meters; Converted Yards Times
| LCM | SCM | SCY (CONVERTED) | |
| 50 free | 23.48 | 22.68 | 20.43 |
| 100 free | 51.41 | 49.87 | 44.87 |
| 200 free | 1:56.33 | 1:52.88 | 1:41.69 |
| 100 fly | 57.76 | 55.35 | 49.86 |
| 100 back | 1:00.55 | 55.77 | 50.24 |
College (Tennessee)
2021-2022
Crooks had a standout freshman season, making serious waves at his first SEC Championships. After leading off the 200 free relay in 18.7 at the beginning of the first finals session, Crooks one-upped himself, winning the 50 free in 18.53, making him the fastest freshman all-time. He followed that up with a 41.44 leading off the 400 free relay, becoming the fastest freshman ever in the 100 as well. He placed 2nd in the individual event at 41.6 behind Brooks Curry.
At his first NCAA Championships, Crooks tied for 3rd in the 50 free (18.6) and 5th in the 100 free (41.24), having gone 41.16 in prelims to lower his time as the fastest freshman ever once again. Individually, Crooks also placed 26th in the 100 fly (45.54) while helping Tennessee to 17th in the 200 medley relay, 16th in the 200 free relay, 13th in the 400 medley relay, and 16th in the 400 free relay.
2022-2023
Crooks wasted no time in his sophomore campaign to assert himself to the rest of the NCAA. In an early October dual meet, he ripped a 19.36 50 free at a dual vs UNCW. In am early November dual against Florida, he split 42.1 in the 400 free relay. At the Tennessee Invite in mid-November, Crooks backed up his in-season swims with historic performances. On the first night, he clocked 18.27 in the 50 free, tying for the #2 performer all-time with Bjorn Seeliger. The next night he swam 44.79 in the 100 fly and 45.55 in the 100 back, both meet records. On the final night of competition, he won the 100 free in 41.29.
At the 2023 SEC Championships, Croooks became just the 2nd swimmer in history to break the 18-second barrier, clocking a 17.93 to win the 50 free title. He also won the 100 free (41.19) and placed 2nd in the 100 fly (44.37) after setting the meet record in prelims (44.04). Crooks Helped Tennessee to an SEC title in the 200 medley relay (splitting 18.9, the fastest split in history) and 400 free relay as well as second-place finishes in the 200 free and 400 medley relays.
At the NCAA Championships, Crooks won his first NCAA title, winning the 50 free (18.32) after a long hold by the starter. He also placed 5th in the 100 fly (44.29) and 100 free (41.03). He helped Tennessee to 4th in the 200 free relay, 6th in the 200 and 400 medley relays, and 7th in the 400 free relay.
International Career
2022 World Championships (Budapest)
At his first world championships, Crooks placed 19th in the 50 free (22.20) and 21st in the 100 free (48.79), breaking a national record in the 50.
2022 Short Course World Championships (Melbourne)
In Melbourne, Crooks made himself known to the world. In the prelims and semi-finals of the 100 free, he swam the top time in each (45.61 & 45.55, both national records). In the final, Crooks clocked 45.77, placing 7th overall.
Moving onto the 50, Crooks followed a similar pattern through the first 2 rounds, clocking new national records of 20.36 and 20.31 while holding the top seed. In the final, Crooks maintained that top seed, touching at 20.46 to place 1st ahead of the defending champion, Ben Proud, by a mere .03.
Not only was this the first medal of any color at a swimming world championship for the Cayman Islands, but with Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter placing 3rd, it also marked the first time 2 Caribbean countries were on 1 podium together.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
Jordan Crooks is now good at LC swimming. Crooks has translated his incredible SC success into the big pool. He clocked a time of 47.77 in the preliminary heats of the men’s 100 free, which is a massive 1.02-second drop from his previous best time of 48.79 from the 2022 World Championships. In addition, Crooks also broke Shaune Fraser‘s super-suited Cayman Islands record time of 48.47 from 2009. The best part of his swim was how evenly he improved from his best with a .44 drop on the front half and a .58 drop on the back 50. In semis, he was even better with a 47.71 for 6th into the final.
