Local Resident Cullen Jones Swims To Olympic Gold

4:32PM | August 11, 2008 | posted by Doug Vannoni | comments: 0

Above: Cullen Jones
Below: The U.S. Team celebrates with gold. (Chris Faytok/The Star-Ledger)

Born in the Bronx and raised in Irvington, NJ, Cullen Jones swam his way to the top of the ultimate world stage this weekend at the Beijing Summer Olympics by taking home a gold medal in last night's over-the-top dramatic victory for the U.S. Men's 4x100m freestyle relay.

Jones, 24, had already won several medals in other international competitions, but this first-time Olympian is the first African-American swimmer to win the coveted gold medal. You can see the race video here, and what an amazing race - some call it the best relay of all time.

When Jones is not competing, he leads learn-to-swim and pool safety clinics for children. These workshops are important to him. When he was 5-years-old, Jones almost drowned at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania.

Last week, James Ford had a chance to talk to Cullen BEFORE he became the next Wheaties box.

WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...