Irvington swimmer Cullen Jones narrowly misses making third straight Summer Olympics

IRVINGTON – Cullen Jones was looking to qualify for his third straight Summer Olympics.

Unfortunately, the Irvington swimmer came up short.

Jones, who made the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, finished in third place in the 50-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. on July 2.

Jones, 32, clocked 21.75, just .23 shy of an Olympic berth. The top two finishers qualified.  Anthony Ervin finished in first in 21.52, followed by Nathan Adrian (21.51).

Jones clocked 21.84 in the preliminaries on July 1 to advance to the semifinals. Jones later in the day won his semifinal heat in 21.93.

The 2016 Summer Olympics are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 5-21.

Jones, a St. Benedict’s Prep graduate who grew up in Irvington, earned medals in the last two Summer Olympics.

In the 2012 London Games, he won gold as part of the 4×100-meter medley relay after swimming a freestyle leg in the preliminaries; and won the silver medals in both the 50-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter free relay. He also competed in the 100-meter freestyle.

In the 2008 Beijing Games, he won gold as part of the 4×100-meter free relay in a world record time.

In 2006, Jones began his professional career after a standout career at North Carolina State University. At the 2006 Pan Pacific Games, he won gold in the  50 free and was part of the 400 free relay, setting a world record in the latter to become the second African-American to break  a world record.  Ervin was the first to do. At the World Championships that same year, he won silver in the 50 free and a bronze on the 400 free relay. He  also took home a silver in the 50 free and a bronze in the 400 free relay at the 2006 Short Course World Championships.