World Championships: Jordan Crooks Makes Transition to Long Course; Two Tennessee Swimmers in 100 Free Semis

Jordan Crooks -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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World Championships: Jordan Crooks Makes Transition to Long Course; Two Tennessee Swimmers in 100 Free Semis

During the most recent season of college swimming, Jordan Crooks put together historically speedy performances across the board for the University of Tennessee. Crooks became the second man ever to crack 18 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, his top time of 17.93 only three tenths off the all-time record held by Caeleb Dressel, and he also moved into a tie for 10th all-time in the 100-yard free (40.92).

In the midst of that season, Crooks made a global impact. Representing the Cayman Islands, he won gold in the 50-meter free at the Short Course World Championships, a meet where he also was a finalist in the 100 free.

But in long course, Crooks remained unproven, and he struggled during in-season meets to approximate his short course results. Entering the World Championships, he was seeded 30th in the 100 free at 48.79. But in his first swim, the 21-year-old made quick work of that as he jumped into the mix with the world’s top sprinters.

Swimming in lane nine in his heat, Crooks went out in front of a strong field and held on to finish a close third behind only 200 free world champion Matt Richards and 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers. Crooks swam a time of 47.77 to knock more than one second off his entry time, and he ended up as the third seed for the final.

Surprise: Crooks will be a factor on the world stage in long course. He has built sufficient endurance to last over a 100-meter long course race while his fast-twitch speed and power was already world class, as evidenced by his results in short course.

We’ll see if Crooks can drop that time any further to reach the speed required for true medal contention in the 100 free, but he likely has a better chance to contend for a medal when the 50 free comes around in the program. He is seeded even lower in that event, his best time of 22.20 only good enough for the 40th-best entry time. Expect that one to be annihilated in two days.

Meanwhile, Crooks will encounter some familiar company in the semifinals: Jack Alexy, this year’s NCAA runnerup in the 100-yard free qualified second in prelims at 47.68 while Josh Liendo, the NCAA winner and last year’s bronze medalist in this event, was seventh in 48.03. And the last qualifier into the semifinals was Brazil’s Gui Caribe Santos, Crooks’ training partner in Knoxville, Tenn.

Caribe swam a time of 48.34 to knock Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo out of the semifinal round by two hundredths, so he will race three lanes away from Crooks in semifinal one Wednesday evening. And Caribe might have just as high a ceiling as Crooks after he split a blistering 46.76 as part of Brazil’s 400 free relay on day one, the second-quickest split in the entire race behind Chalmers.

Most likely, we have not seen the last of the Tennessee swimmers in the men’s sprint freestyle events in Fukuoka.

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