CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two-time Olympian and four-time Olympic medalist (2 gold, 2 silver) Cullen Jones joined WCNC Charlotte’s Ashley Stroehlein in the studio to discuss the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, his Olympic experience and more.
Q: You are making the trip to Paris for the Olympic Games. What are you going to be looking for from Team USA?
A: I was having a conversation with a couple of the new Olympians, and a lot of them, even if they were a two-time Olympian, they're like I feel like this is my first Olympics because 2021 was just full of COVID restrictions. So, I'm just excited for them to go and there's going to be spectators there. So, it's funny that you either are a three-time Olympian and understand what it was like in Brazil, or this truly feels like your first time, even if it's your second.
Q: How is Team USA preparing in this last leg of training both mentally and physically for Paris?
A: So, what the team does is they usually go somewhere that's actually in the same time zone as the host country. So for France, they're in Croatia right now. I'm very, very jealous these are all my friends and I'm just seeing my stories and all of them just having a great time. Right now they’re in the second phase of their training, they started off here in North Carolina, they were in Cary, for the first bit, and now they're in Croatia, and then they'll head over to France in about a week or so.
Q: Once the games get started, you know, who are you looking for to make a big impact? Or maybe who are some dark horses that you think might get a medal this time?
A: I think that there's a lot of new blood, which is great. We want to make sure that we're keeping the tradition alive of keeping these gold medals coming in. I think that in 2021, we saw a lot of new swimmers coming in kind of making a name for themselves with the veterans. They're going into their second Olympics for many of them, and they understand so they have a little bit of experience under their belt. Regan Smith looks amazing, she just set a world record. You've got Caleb Dressel, who's back I know he was battling for some things around health and now he's back and ready to go. I was really impressed with how well I saw him swim. Then Simone Manuel, same thing. She took a break, really kind of worked at trying to come back at it and for her to make the team and multiple events I think she's going to be dangerous for sure. Then of course your new and up-and-coming folks, Chris Giuliano, Jack Alexy, on the lady’s side, Alex Shackell. There are a lot of younger swimmers that are kind of making a name for themselves. What I really am excited about is that they have that leadership so it's going to be them learning from Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy.
Q: You had a chance to see all of them battle it out at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials to earn their spot in the Paris Olympics. What were your takeaways from the action you saw then?
A: Actually, it was insane. We saw Omaha give swimming such love, but what Indianapolis was able to do, they set a world record twice for 22,000 people because we were in Lucas Oil Stadium, which retrofitted two different pools in the middle of a football stadium. It was just amazing to see that and then the amount of showmanship that USA Swimming put on. The athletes were just kind of blown away, but the spectators were blown away every single night watching Katie Ledecky just absolutely taking every event that she was in and then Caleb Dressel. Of course, all the big names. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Q: Going back to when you competed in the Olympics and got your first gold medal, what was that moment like for you?
A: You know, it was surreal. I think the coolest thing for me was saying our national anthem. Then in the 50 free when I got silver it wasn't about the fact that I got silver. It was the fact that I wasn't able to say our national anthem from my event. I wanted that so bad. But it’s still surreal, I think for any Olympian to be able to be blessed enough to get a medal, let alone a gold medal, being able to say their national anthem and stand up there is. Yeah, there's no words.
Q: You guys took everyone by storm and were everywhere from covers of magazines, to Oprah, all the things right. When you look back on that time in your life what are some of the memories that come to mind?
A: I got a hug from Oprah! That's probably the biggest one the hug from Oprah. I mean, you feel anointed at that point. I actually got to see (Michael) Phelps again. I mean, we text all the time, but you know, we're always all over the place. Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps and I were together at trials. There's just an unspoken bond from that from that relay team. It was just cool to be together. Just to talk shop, talk about this next team, and be really excited about certain people. I'm just going to say our record is in jeopardy, those four guys look really good for that 4x 100 Freestyle Relay. Hopefully, they're able to bring home gold, but they might break the record. I'm not salty, because records are meant to be broken. That's all right, go ahead and take it, but 20 years does sound much better.
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Q: I think it's so neat that you guys still keep in touch and that you had that moment at trials, where three of the four of you were there and getting a chance to break down what this upcoming team looks like, or what they might be able to do, but to have that bond and still have that relationship with Michael Phelps and the guys, what does that mean?
A: I mean, our kids call each other uncles. It's amazing. I remember Lochte and Phelps and I playing Spades every night when we were in training camp. I think that's, that's the cool part about what this team is doing right now in Croatia, they're having beach days there, and I'm seeing just different groups of people that I wouldn't necessarily think, oh, like, this person's hanging out with that person. The team is really building right now. We all have kids now, and we're all still in touch and making sure everyone's okay, but those moments when we get together are special.
Q: You're an ambassador still for the sport of swimming and you're very focused on making a difference and making an impact and just the importance of swimming for everybody. What is it like now to have that platform and to be able to use it and continue to make a difference?
A: To still be able to have a brand that people can resonate with, especially this next generation to resonate with really means a lot to me. I stopped everywhere to sign (autographs at trials) because the mission that I'm on is to try to get everyone to learn to swim, no matter what your skin color, race, or gender doesn't matter. We all need to learn to swim. It's a life skill.
Contact Ashley Stroehlein at astro@wcnc.com and follow her on X, Facebook and Instagram.