University of Tennessee Athletics
Jillian Crooks Heading to Second Olympic Games for Cayman Islands
July 02, 2024 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Lady Vol swimming signee Jillian Crooks earned a bid to the Paris Olympics for the Cayman Islands, marking her second trip to the Summer Games.
Jillian Crooks, the sister of current UT All-American and national champion sprinter Jordan Crooks, represented her nation during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 41st in the 100 free with a 57.32 effort. She will once again compete in the event this year. Her career-best mark in the 100 free is 55.18 from the Commonwealth Youth Games in August 2023. That time would've ranked 29th during the last games.
All of this comes before Crooks ever steps foot on Rocky Top. Joining the Lady Vols in the fall, the two-time Olympian was ranked as a top-10 recruit in the 2024 signing class by SwimSwam (6th) and Swimcloud (7th). Like her brother, Crooks specializes in the sprint freestyle and also excels in the 100 back with her top times in each event coming at the Speedo Winter Junior Championship East this past December.
Crooks' 47.30 effort in the 100 free would be good for third in program history behind USA Olympian Erika Connolly and 2024 freshman All-American Camille Spink. She would rank sixth in the 100 back (51.54) and tied for ninth in the 50 free (21.95) with her current personal-best times.
Joining Crooks in Paris as a member of the Lady Vols' 2024 signing class will be Canada's Ella Jansen, who will be swimming the 400 IM. Jansen is one of the top-ranked recruits from the class, according to Swimcloud. During the Canadian swimming trials, she finished second in the 400 IM, fifth in the 200 free and 200 IM and was 10th in the 100 free. Both Crooks and Jansen will be huge additions to Tennessee's already stacked roster. The Lady Vols return numerous key contributors from this past season's squad, which finished fourth nationally.
In total, the Big Orange boasts a program-record 16 Olympic qualifiers for the upcoming games. A combined 11 different nations will be represented by the Vols and Lady Vols in Paris. Swimming officially begins on Saturday, July 27, at 5 a.m. Here's a full list of Tennessee's Olympians and the events they qualified in:
Gui Caribe (Brazil) – 50 Free, 100 Free
Erika Connolly (USA) – 4x100 Free Relay
Jillian Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 100 Free
Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 50 Free, 100 Free
Brooklyn Douthwright (Canada) – 4x100 Free Relay
Lyubomir Epitropov (Bulgaria) – 200 Breast
Martin Espernberger (Austria) – 200 Fly
Ella Jansen (Canada) – 400 IM
Mona McSharry (Ireland) – 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Kayky Mota (Brazil) – 100 Fly
Julia Mrozinski (Germany) – 200 Free
Regan Rathwell (Canada) – 200 Back
Lamar Taylor (Bahamas) – 100 Free
Kira Toussaint (Netherlands) – 100 Back, 200 Back
Joaquin Vargas (Peru) – 400 Free
Ellen Walshe (Ireland) – 200 IM, 400 IM
Jillian Crooks, the sister of current UT All-American and national champion sprinter Jordan Crooks, represented her nation during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 41st in the 100 free with a 57.32 effort. She will once again compete in the event this year. Her career-best mark in the 100 free is 55.18 from the Commonwealth Youth Games in August 2023. That time would've ranked 29th during the last games.
All of this comes before Crooks ever steps foot on Rocky Top. Joining the Lady Vols in the fall, the two-time Olympian was ranked as a top-10 recruit in the 2024 signing class by SwimSwam (6th) and Swimcloud (7th). Like her brother, Crooks specializes in the sprint freestyle and also excels in the 100 back with her top times in each event coming at the Speedo Winter Junior Championship East this past December.
Crooks' 47.30 effort in the 100 free would be good for third in program history behind USA Olympian Erika Connolly and 2024 freshman All-American Camille Spink. She would rank sixth in the 100 back (51.54) and tied for ninth in the 50 free (21.95) with her current personal-best times.
Joining Crooks in Paris as a member of the Lady Vols' 2024 signing class will be Canada's Ella Jansen, who will be swimming the 400 IM. Jansen is one of the top-ranked recruits from the class, according to Swimcloud. During the Canadian swimming trials, she finished second in the 400 IM, fifth in the 200 free and 200 IM and was 10th in the 100 free. Both Crooks and Jansen will be huge additions to Tennessee's already stacked roster. The Lady Vols return numerous key contributors from this past season's squad, which finished fourth nationally.
In total, the Big Orange boasts a program-record 16 Olympic qualifiers for the upcoming games. A combined 11 different nations will be represented by the Vols and Lady Vols in Paris. Swimming officially begins on Saturday, July 27, at 5 a.m. Here's a full list of Tennessee's Olympians and the events they qualified in:
Gui Caribe (Brazil) – 50 Free, 100 Free
Erika Connolly (USA) – 4x100 Free Relay
Jillian Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 100 Free
Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 50 Free, 100 Free
Brooklyn Douthwright (Canada) – 4x100 Free Relay
Lyubomir Epitropov (Bulgaria) – 200 Breast
Martin Espernberger (Austria) – 200 Fly
Ella Jansen (Canada) – 400 IM
Mona McSharry (Ireland) – 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Kayky Mota (Brazil) – 100 Fly
Julia Mrozinski (Germany) – 200 Free
Regan Rathwell (Canada) – 200 Back
Lamar Taylor (Bahamas) – 100 Free
Kira Toussaint (Netherlands) – 100 Back, 200 Back
Joaquin Vargas (Peru) – 400 Free
Ellen Walshe (Ireland) – 200 IM, 400 IM
Players Mentioned
Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
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