Yardbarker: Cullen Jones

Sol Republic auctioning headphones worn by Michael Phelps during 2012 Olympics

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:16:18 -0400

If you hadn’t heard of Sol Republic prior to this summer there’s a good chance you found out if you were able to catch any of the swimming events during this year’s Olympics. While many swimmers, including America’s Cullen Jones and Sun Yang of China, opted for the ever popular Beats by Dr. [...]

Ryan Lochte is Swimming in It

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:07:19 -0400

Always keep your head above water T... Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte hosts “Azure” Pool At The Palazzo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where he posed with models and fellow Olympian Cullen Jones — Lochte is really enjoying the after effects of Olympic Stardom. -TO Ryan Lochte Has Passion For Fashion Ryan Lochte Plays Kissy Face

Cullen Jones Attends Cinema Society “Sparkle” Screening

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:20:45 -0400

Olympic Swimmer Cullen Jones dressed to impress as he attended the Cinema Society screening of recently released film “Sparkle” at the Tribeca Grand Hotel this past Tuesday here in NYC.Cullen spruced up a formal look with a lustrous powder blue blazer jacket. I think he pulled off the blazer right, paring it with neutral colors which allowed the piece to flourish.Nice fit,the slim attire complemented Cullen’s physique to the fullest. What are your thoughts on Cullen getup for the evening?? photo via concreteloop

Last Word On The Olympics: North Carolina Kicks Iran’s Butt 19-14

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:01:00 -0400

By Laura Keeley/Raleigh News & ObserverIf North Carolina were a country, it would have finished 13th in the medal standings.The 19 total medals won in London by athletes with strong ties to the Tar Heel state would rank right behind Ukraine (20) and just ahead of Canada (18). Whatâ€™s more, the stateâ€™s haul of 10 gold medals would rank eighth in the world. Individually, N.C. Stateâ€™s Cullen Jones led the way with three medals â€“ one gold, two silver â€“ and fellow swimmers Ricky Berens and Nick Thoman came back with a pair apiece. Naturally, all that hardware led to a bit of extra attention. â€œGoing through security took 20 minutes B/c they pulled all the medals out. #WiErD!!!â€* Jones tweeted. â€œGood thing I have extra time so i donâ€™t miss my flightâ€* And now that the flame has officially been extinguished on the games of the XXX Olympiad have officially ended, thereâ€™s time to revisit some of the stateâ€™s most memorable performances:N.C. STATE'S CULLEN JONES (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)GOLDâ€

Olympic features and new stuff…

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 01:46:27 -0400

I haven’t had much time to blog recently. I plan to do some this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some writing going on. During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on some things for theACC.com which is an exciting opputrunity for me. Here are some of what I’ve been doing. I’ve been putting together a Daily ACC Olympic Web Headlines. In addition to that, I’ve written feature pieces on a couple of ACC Olympians. One was on former NC State swimming star and Olympic medalist Cullen Jones. The other article I wrote was about former Clemson track athlete George Kitchens Jr. I hope you’ll take a look at those. There’s something else I may be working for theACC.com in the near future, but I’ll wait until I have all the details. Become a fan of the ACC on Facebook and follow the ACC on Twitter

London 2012 Swimming: Day 7 Recap

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:19:45 -0400

Day seven was another successful day for the Americans in the pool as they won three of the four gold medals on offer while also managing to claim a handful of minor medals just for good measure as they overtook China for the overall medal lead. WOMEN’S 200m BACKSTROKE America’s teen sesation Missy Franklin got the night’s action off to a flying start by smashing the field in the final of the 200 backstroke. As if winning the race by nearly 2 seconds wasn’t good enough, Franklin also managed to smash Krist Coventry’s old world record by 0.75 seconds in a time of 2:04.06 for another gold medal. Coming in second was Anastasia Zueva from Russia while American Elizabeth Beisel claimed the bronze. Coventry meanwhile was in the pool for the breaking of her world record as she could only managed sixth spot over 4 seconds behind Franklin. MEN’S 100m BUTTERFLY In his final individual event at these Olympics (and possibly ever, unless he has a more successful comeback than Ian Thorpe) Michael...

Olympic Primer - August 3rd

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:36:10 -0400

NBC puts out a daily press release noting the highlights of their television coverage for the next day. Given the difficulty sometimes in knowing what event is being televised when and where, we'll share that schedule from NBC with you the previous night so you can set your DVRs and plan accordingly. The schedule is sorted by network. Below NBC's press release we'll add the live times at the bottom for gold medal events you can catch online as well. All times are eastern. Friday's highlights include Federer v Del Potro and Murray v Djokovic in the men's tennis semis as well as the Bryans and Williams in the doubles semis at Wimbledon. The women's soccer quarterfinals sees the USA facing New Zealand. Michael Phelps does battle once again with South African Chad Le Clos in the 100 fly after Le Clos' amazing 200 fly win. And if that wasn't enough, gold medals are up for grabs in eight sports including archery, fencing, and badminton an...

Bovell, Cielo 1-2 in 50 free heats

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:21:00 -0400

George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago qualified fastest in the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries at the London Olympics on Thursday, with defending champion Cesar Cielo of Brazil right behind. Bovell touched in 21.77 seconds to win the sixth of eight heats in swimming's glamour event. The 29-year-old four-time Olympian is solely focused on the 50 at these games after winning his country's first swimming medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 200 individual medley. The former Auburn swimmer once owned the 200 IM world record. Cielo finished the furious one-lap sprint in 21.80, with teammate Bruno Fratus third at 21.82. Cielo had a quick turnaround after finishing sixth in the 100 free a night earlier. ''It was hard to sleep last night after the race because the final was so late,'' Cielo said. ''This morning I was more concerned about making enough of an effort to get back. It's a matter of resting now to make sure I get a spot in the final.'' Anthony Ervin of th

Summer Olympics Day Four: Can Phelps Lead Team USA To Double Gold?

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:04:31 -0400

It was an interesting day in the Olympic Pool yesterday. Ryan Lochte failed to medal, it was deja-vu again for Rebecca Soni, touched out again at the wall in the 100 breastroke, Missy Franklin lived up to the hype and looked impressive winning gold, a mere 10 minutes after swimming a freestyle semifinal heat and Matt Grevers, as expected, became an Olympic backstroke champion, leading a 1-2 Team USA finish in the 100-yard race. For the first time during the meet, the Americans took home multiple gold medals. And for the first time during the meet, the Americans failed to medal in an event. How weird is it that three days into the much hyped Michael Phelps/Lochte Olympic rivalry that each have failed to medal in one event. At least when Phelps missed the medal podium in the 400 IM, Lochte was there to carry the flag for the US and win the race. Last night, there wasnt a Plan B for the Americans in the 200 Freestyle so when Lochte couldnt fight his way to a medal in the packed championship heat, (all medalists

Let’s Put to Rest This Ridiculous Idea That Ryan Lochte Shouldn’t Have Swam on the 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay Team

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 08:02:02 -0400

I was disappointed Sunday to watch the United States men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay team surrender a lead late in the race and finish second to France. I was more disappointed the next morning to find the Internet and the sports media swarming with Monday morning swim coaches questioning Team USA coach Gregg Troy’s decision to put Ryan Lochte on the team for Sunday evening’s final. When Lochte dove into the pool for the anchor leg of the relay, the United States was in first place and had a half-second lead on its closest competition. But French anchor Yannick Agnel swam the race of a lifetime, surpassed Lochte on the final 50 meters, and touched the wall 0.45 seconds before the American to win gold for France. The United States team of Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, and Cullen Jones won silver. The United States 4 x 100 relay team poses with its silver medals. (Photo by Getty Images) Lochte’s failure to maintain or build on the lead, along with the hype surrounding Lochte e...

Jones Wins Silver in London

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:13:00 -0400

Former NC State swimmer Cullen Jones won an Olympic silver medal in the men's 400m freestyle relay last night in London.

Silver Lining? Phelps earns 17th Olympic Medal

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 18:06:43 -0400

One day after a disappointing 4th place finish Michael Phelps has earned an incredible 17th Olympic medal. The 4×100 Men’s Freestyle final featured the favorites representing Australia, France, and the defending Olympic gold medalist team from the USA. This same event in 2008 provided the fireworks that added to the lore of the medal run by Phelps. France’s Alain Bernard, pictured here in this fictional represenation,decided he would stoke the fire by promising a victory and ending Phelps chance at 8 gold medals. He was only .08 wrong as America’s Jason Lezak swam a blistering 46.06 in the final leg to catch and surpass Bernard for victory. Phelps had been criticized as not being prepared for this Olympics, as if the Subway commercials and fame had taken it’s toll. Phelps is not an after thought, and will win a few medals in London, but this is supposed to be Ryan Lochte’s time to shine. The finals squad was comprised of Phelps, Lochte, Cullen Jones, and Nathan Adrian. Lezak was left off the fi

Lochte, Phelps both swimming on US 400 free relay

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:32:21 -0400

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are swimming for the U.S. team in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, hoping to take down the favored Aussies. The American coaches decided on an entirely new lineup for the Sunday evening final, sending out Nathan Adrian on the first leg, followed by Phelps and Cullen Jones, with Lochte going on the anchor leg. Jimmy Feigen, Matt Grevers, Ricky Berens and 2008 Olympic star Jason Lezak competed in the morning preliminaries, posting the second-fastest time behind the Australians. The team from Down Under is favored for gold with a team led by James ''The Missile'' Magnussen and James ''The Rocket'' Roberts. The Americans hope that using both Phelps and Lochte will give them a chance to pull off the upset.

Swimmer used book to learn stroke

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:17:28 -0400

If there's such a thing as a textbook swimmer, Rwanda's Jackson Niyomugabo - not Michael Phelps - may be it. That's because he learned how to swim from one. Niyomugabo, who is competing at the London Olympics in the 50-meter freestyle, used a French book called ''The Secrets of Swimming Development'' to perfect his stroke. ''My main coach all my life has been this book,'' the 24-year-old Niyomugabo, a two-time Olympian, said in an interview back home recently, referring to his precious swimming guide. Niyomugabo had another valuable source of information to help him on his journey from an undeveloped lakeside town in east Africa to the Olympics: TV. He would watch top swimmers compete and compare what he saw with the illustrations in his book - because he also can't read French. He'd glance back and forth from television to book, making mental notes and planning to put what he'd seen into action when he trained later alongside fishing canoes on the

A textbook, not a coach, guides Rwandan swimmer

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 00:15:02 -0400