Summer Olympics: 2-time gold medalist Cullen Jones explains why ‘losing is great’

It’s almost time for the Summer Olympics to take over the sports world, as it does every four years.

The opening ceremonies are July 26 in Paris. And so for the first time in the three seasons of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” we went poolside to have a candid conversation with Olympic swimmer and two-time gold medalist Cullen Jones.

Formerly a star college swimmer at N.C. State , Jones previewed the Paris swimming competition, talked about his own experiences in the Olympics and told us how he became one of a handful of African-American swimmers to succeed in the water at the sport’s highest levels.

Jones owns two gold medals and two silver medals from the Olympics, where he competed for Team USA in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. He also said the most important lessons from his athletic career came not during his record-setting wins, but from his losses.

Now 40 years old, Jones lives in Charlotte with his wife and their 5-year-old son. Our interview came at Life Time’s fitness center in Charlotte, and that excellent facility also let us borrow one of its several pools for our photo session.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity and can be found in its entirety on the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” podcast.

Scott Fowler: You went to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, this time working for Speedo. What were your impressions of the American team?

Cullen Jones: We are going to be prepared. The fact that we had our Olympic trials at the (stadium) where the Colts play ... that it had world-record attendance — you are prepared for the Games at that point.

We have a mixed group when it comes to age, which I think is great. You have your veterans but you have a very young group of swimmers and it’s their first time representing Team USA. And one of the things that I think we do very well for Team USA is there’s a mentorship there. The veterans are always bringing the freshmen into the fold and teaching them what they’re in for.

SF: You were part of the relay team that has held the Olympic record in the 4x100 relay for the past 16 years. Do you think that record will be broken this year?

CJ: It was the 2008 4x100 relay, where the French team so poignantly said they were there to crush the Americans. I went third on that relay with Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak.

We set the world record and it’s been standing for 16 years, and so it’s the longest-standing record, but it looks like it’s in jeopardy by (the four Americans who will swim the same relay this year). Records are made to be broken. I have no ill will. As long as those boys come home with the gold, I’m a happy man.

SF: You’re going to Paris for the Olympics as well. What will your role be there?

CJ: So now I work for Speedo. I have kind of come full circle. ... I get to negotiate the deals, build these new athletes’ brands and kind of get more out of them than just swimming fast. Really trying to give back and help in the way that they can solidify what their brand looks like moving forward. It’s fun. No day is the same. It keeps me so close to the sport.

SF: While most of the swimming events will be held indoors in a pool, the Seine river in Paris will be where the open-water swimming competition is held. It’s very polluted and how well the cleanup has gone is debatable. What’s your take?

CJ: There’s always something at the Olympics. In Beijing, it was pollution. In London, traffic. In Brazil, the Zika virus. Most recently, COVID. ... So now I’m hearing both pollution and traffic for Paris. The host country tends to do a really good at working on these things. I’ve seen all of these different controversies that have popped up, and we’re still able to have an amazing Olympics.

SF: Your origin story is one of the most unique in the sport. Tell us how you got started with swimming and why.

CJ: I’m an only child from the New York/New Jersey area. There weren’t a ton of pools, but my parents kind of knew that I loved being in the water because they would throw me in the tub and I’d cry if they pulled me out. You throw me in there with Hot Wheels, He-Man and ThunderCats and I was a happy child.

But I loved the water. And so my parents took me to an amusement park, Dorney Park (in Pennsylvania), and I wanted to get on the same ride that my dad was getting on. We sat in these inner tubes. He went first, I went second, my mom went last. ... I was fully supervised, my parents were there and I was still able to go down this ride and flip upside down. I had to be fully resuscitated to come back.

So it was one of those things where my mom was like, “We’re gonna go against the grain. I’m not going to tell you Black people don’t swim. We’re going to give you the tools to do to be better around the water.” ... That’s part of the reason I do so much work around water safety. You teach people to swim and it saves lives.

SF: What was your age at the time of that accident?

CJ: I was 5 years old. When I got out of the pool, when they resuscitated me, the first thing out of my mouth was “Let’s do it again!”

SF: When did swimming become your passion?

CJ: I went through five different teachers, just because I just wasn’t feeling comfortable. ... But then at about 8-10 years old. I just kept getting beat by this one kid and I started getting competitive. ... Swimming was an uphill battle for me. I always say I was getting the purple and pink ribbon. That was sixth or seventh place. The blue ribbons came when I was about 15. That was much later.

SF: How did you end up at N.C. State?

CJ: I grew up a Michael Jordan fan, so UNC was like a dream school. I ended up going on an unofficial visit. ... The coaches really didn’t kind of know that I was there.

And then I asked some questions and it just wasn’t a fit. I think my career would have ended at UNC, in large part because of how it would have been handled with my swimming, and what was said to me at that time. And I was kind of enraged. ... A friend of mine from Jersey, Kevin Devine, he went to N.C. State, and he just kept hounding me to come take a visit.

And I felt so welcomed. It was a family atmosphere. I had just lost my dad (Jones’ dad, a non-smoker, died in 2000 of lung cancer). I was looking for a family atmosphere. And I felt that when I went to N.C. State and that’s what sold me.

SF: You have some really cool body art, some of which is Olympic-themed. Tell me about all of your various tattoos.

CJ: I really wanted to do an homage to 2008 and 2012 (Jones’ Olympic years, in Beijing and London). And so the first thing was the double-decker bus. And the reason why the double-decker bus is it’s obviously synonymous with London, but was also my son’s favorite word to say as a baby, he would say: “Double Decker Dus.” The bus number is 41 — an homage to my dad (who wore the number 41 as a college basketball player).

And then Big Ben. And I think what’s cool about Big Ben is the time is 7:11, which is actually my son’s birthday.

And so on the other side, you have the terracotta warrior for Beijing and then the Great Wall. But you also have torches for both the Olympics and then in the Beijing one, hidden in the handle, is the Olympic world record for the relay (from 2008). So there’s a lot of thought that went into it. ... It took about five sessions. A really good friend of mine in Charlotte actually did it for me.

SF: Do you still stay in touch with Phelps or Ryan Lochte? Lochte lived in Charlotte for a while and was your teammate on SwimMAC’s Team Elite.

CJ: We’re extremely close. I did get to just see Michael at trials. We don’t get to see each other as much, though, because we all have kids now. But when we do, we are cutting up and we’re telling old stories. Lochte and I are a little bit closer, just because of proximity. He’s back in Gainesville, Florida, now. ... We’re all getting older.

SF: What’s your family like?

CJ: My wife Rupi, and my son, Ayvn, are the joys of my life. I’m on the road quite a bit with Speedo and then also with philanthropy. Now that Ayvn has turned 5, he loves planes, and he’s really good on planes. I try to bring him to things. ... My parents were really big on knowing other cultures. ... We have a saying in the house: You can’t say “Eww” or “gross” or “I don’t like it.” (You say) “It’s just not for me.”

My son used chopsticks at 2 or 3 years old. We want him to understand that Mom is East Indian, Dad is Black, you are a mix of multiple cultures and we want you to try it all out.

SF: Since you’ve traveled overseas so much, which countries do you most like to go to?

CJ: I would say Italy. The food — you just can’t beat it. And the history and the people. Australia as well. Some of the nicest people that I’ve ever (met), except when you’re training and racing against them. (Laughs) I’m kidding. The rivalry is great, and Australia will be loaded for bear (at these Olympics).

SF: Where do you keep your four Olympic medals?

CJ: (Laughs) Away from my son. I had a gold medal that has never been dropped, and now it’s been dropped by one person. I said, “Ayvn, I love you so much. Go to your mother. Just walk away, son. I need a minute.”

SF: What’s the Cullen Jones philosophy of life?

CJ: Swimming is such a universal life skill to have. And what I tell young people is just to never give up. Sadly, 99-plus percent of the swimmers that I’ve worked with may never be able to grace the Olympic podium.

But it’s not about that. It’s about the life lessons of swimming teaches you — perseverance and learning to lose gracefully.

We as a society are so stuck on instant gratification.

Sport teaches you that that’s not going to happen. You’re going to take this loss and I think that that’s so important. I don’t care what my son Ayvn does, but I want him to learn how to lose gracefully.

In the corporate world or wherever you are .... losing is great, as long as you continue. If you lose and you stop, that’s where the word loser comes in, right?

You can lose all day. Trust me. I did. But don’t stop. Just keep pushing. And even if you don’t make the Olympics, the life lessons that you learn are irreplaceable.

The national award-winning “Sports Legends” series includes 1-on-1 interviews with guests like Richard Petty, Steph Curry, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jake Delhomme, Alonzo Mourning and Dawn Staley. Those are also available on the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” podcast , where a fuller version of this interview with Cullen Jones can also be found.

The “Sports Legends” coffee-table book is now available at Sp ortsLegendsBook.com and at local bookstores.

Get Product Recall Updates