Jordan Crooks Jumps From No. 114 to No. 5 All-Time with 20.36 50 Free at SC Worlds

2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 18, 2022
• Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, Melbourne, Australia
• SCM (25m)
• Prize Money
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• Psych Sheets (Updated)
• Live Results

Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

Jordan Crooks lowered his hours-old Cayman Islands record in the 50 freestyle by nearly a second on the fourth day of the 2022 Short Course World Championships, clocking a 20.36 to lead all qualifiers in prelims. 

Crooks’ new lifetime best catapults him into the top-five performers of all time in the event. Before today’s race, he was ranked 114th.

Top 50 Free Performers Ever

1. Caeleb Dressel – 20.16 (2020)
2. Florent Manaudou – 20.26 (2014)
3. Roland Schoeman – 20.30 (2009)
4. Vladimir Morozov – 20.31 (2017)
5. Jordan Crooks – 20.36 (2022)

The 20-year-old Tennessee sophomore broke the national record for the third time in the past three days after previously setting the mark in the heats and final of the 100 free. Crooks was 21.70 at the midway point of the 100 free prelims before hitting 21.32 at the halfway point of the final, where he tied for sixth place (45.77). 

In the 50 free prelims, Crooks was out in a blazing 9.80 and came home in 10.56. By reaching the wall in 20.36, he was just a tenth of a second off of Florent Manaudou’s Championship record from 2014 and two-tenths behind Caeleb Dressel’s world record from 2020. 

The Cayman Islands record in the 50 free had stood untouched for nearly a decade until this week. Brett Fraser posted a 21.73 at the 2013 Island Games that lasted for nine years before Crooks edged that mark by three one-hundredths of a second in the 100 free prelims. 

Top 50 Free Times, Cayman Islands History

1. 20.36 – Jordan Crooks (2022)
2. 21.32 – Jordan Crooks (2022)
3. 21.70 – Jordan Crooks (2022)
4. 21.73 – Brett Fraser (2013)

Crooks also owns SCM national records in the 100 free (45.55 from the 100 free heats), 50 back (25.23), and 100 back (55.53). 

Crooks (20.36) is the top seed among a competitive 50 free semifinal tonight featuring Dylan Carter (20.70), Ben Proud (20.88), and Manaudou (20.94). 

In February, Crooks became the fastest NCAA freshman ever in the SCY version of the 50 free (18.53). So far, that momentum is carrying over into his Short Course Worlds debut. 

Crooks is in Australia as part of a very small contingent from the Cayman Islands — it’s only himself and his sister, Jillian Crooks. She’s entered in the 100 free and the 50 fly, while he’s slated to swim just the 50 and the 100 free. Jillian is on a roll early in the meet as well – she already has national records of her own this week in the 100 free (54.20) and 50 fly (26.40), and she’s only 16 years old.