5 Things to Know About Cullen Jones

This article is sponsored by Citi.

Who can forget the spectacular comeback by the U.S. men’s swim team in the 4X100m freestyle relay during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games? When the U.S. team swam to a new world record, Cullen Jones became the second African-American swimmer to win a gold medal in the sport.

“The bigger the stage, the better I swim,” he said in an interview on USA Swimming.com. Cullen is hoping to qualify for the 50m and 100m freestyle races for the London 2012 Olympic Games this summer to continue his spectacular journey. 

While Cullen, 28, is a top competitor in the pool, there’s a lot more to this Bronx native than his athletic accomplishments. Here are five things to know about U.S. Olympian Cullen Jones:

1. Cullen loves music. One of his Facebook likes is Frank Sinatra and he’ll stay in his car to finish listening to a great playlist. When Cullen was in Charlotte, N.C., he tweeted: “Power98 in Charlotte is playing all my NY favorite songs. Having a hard time getting out of my car but I gotta go 2 practice #Dilemma #Jammin”
2. He is a Knicks fan. Born in The Bronx and raised in New Jersey, Cullen’s heart is with the New York Knicks. He followed the team’s wild ride this season and tweeted a simple farewell message — that they all stay healthy.
3. Cullen almost drowned as a child. “Did you know I almost drowned at age 5?” Jones asks on his Facebook page. The initiative he is supporting, Make a Splash, touches close to home. During a childhood trip to an amusement park with his parents, he went down a ride in an inner tube, hit the bottom of the pool, flipped over and stayed under water for 25-30 seconds, he told Complex.com. He had to be resuscitated. Afterward, his mother booked him swim lessons. The incident stayed with Cullen, who tweeted, “Up to 70 percent of African-American and Hispanic children don't know how to swim. @Cullen_Jones wants to change that: http://citi.us/HKySeu.”
4. He likes to be a role model. Cullen remembered the great athletes who inspired him — including Michael Jordan — in an interview with BigLeadSports.com. “...Watching him, he showed what it meant to be a true athlete. What it meant to win gracefully and also lose gracefully. And since I’ve become a role model in swimming, I like to try to hold myself to the same standards...”
5. Cullen Jones Jeans coming to a retailer near you? After his swimming career is over, Cullen might turn his attention to fashion design, he told BigLeadSports.com. “I think that my big goal is definitely to start my own clothing line, starting with jeans … I just want to learn the business a little bit before I decide to make moves to start my own line.”

Cullen gives back through the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative, which partners with swim instruction providers to help keep children safe. He has joined with Citi to raise money for the initiative. 

He is one of 13 athletes whom Citi is sponsoring in its Every Step of the WaySM program. This innovative digital program benefits U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls and athletes of all ages in communities across America by allowing fans to help allocate Citi’s ThankYou® Points to Sport Programs through activity on Facebook and Twitter, giving Team Citi athletes the chance to say "thank you" to the Sport Programs that have inspired them.

Citi, a sponsor of Team USA, has launched its Every Step of the Way program with a $500,000 donation to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), represented by 50 million ThankYou® Points - the currency of Citi ThankYou Rewards. The unique Every Step of the Way program allows fans to help allocate these ThankYou Points to Sport Programs through activity on Facebook and Twitter.

The more fans participate through Facebook and Twitter, the more ThankYou Points they can direct to their Sport Program of choice, until its goal is reached. At the end of the program, the USOC will use Citi's donation to give the cash equivalent of the ThankYou Points directly to the Sport Program matched with the Team Citi athlete.

Support Cullen’s quest for gold and the Make a Splash initiative through the Every Step of the Way Application on Facebook. Follow Cullen on Twitter.