Cullen Jones reflects on 2008 Olympic relay and NC State in return to Triangle

“Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up.”

Those words ran through former N.C. State swimmer Cullen Jones’ mind as he swam the 4x100-meter freestyle relay during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It remains the scariest thing he’s ever done. There was no room for error.

Jones made his way back to Raleigh this week and joined Team USA at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary for the first portion of its 2024 Olympic training. He reflected on the race, which some have referred to as the greatest relay event in history, and his time at N.C. State.

Entering the race, French swimmer and world record holder Alain Bernard said, “ The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”

Jones competed alongside Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak and stunned the French in a come-from-behind victory. The win gave the United States a gold, silenced France’s trash talking and kept Phelps in line for his record-breaking eight gold medals.

“As a coach and a swim fan. That’s probably one of the most iconic races ever. It’s the one that they still show on TV, and people remember exactly where they were sitting at the time, what, who they were with,” said Braden Holloway, N.C. State head coach and Team USA assistant coach.

“For Cullen to be a part of such a huge moment in history for our sport, he’ll have that for the rest of his life. His kids will have that. His grandkids. Just pretty neat. That’s a race that kids watch, and they dream watching that.”

Lezak earns significant credit for his 46.06-second anchor leg, a world record. Jones finished with the slowest split, 47.65 seconds — a time that would put him on an Olympic team now.

Jones touched the wall after former Auburn swimmer Frédérick “Frank” Bousquet gave France a 6/10th-second lead. That wasn’t the end of the race. Lezak dove into the pool and used the drafts created from Bernard’s strokes to take the lead.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my god, I messed up.’ My second thought was, ‘Oh my god, no this is perfect,’” Jones said. “I was holding my breath as he was coming in. I was on the side of the pool, so I saw him touch the wall first. The rest has been history.”

The Wolfpack graduate said the medal meant a lot not because of Phelps nor because he went home with a medal. It meant a lot because he represented Team USA and made history.

“One of the things that I always commend MP on is that it was never about him going for eight,” Jones said on Saturday. “He never said it to the group. He never said it to the team. His only focus was Team USA. The byproduct of that was that he elevated all of our games. … We were all more focused on Team USA than Michael’s eight. That [win] was a byproduct of us working well together.”

Jones competed in two Olympic games and earned four medals, two of which were gold.

Jones swam for N.C. State from 2003 through 2006 and went pro at the conclusion of his collegiate career. He lived in Raleigh and trained with Wolfpack Elite until 2008 before moving to Charlotte, where he remains.

Jones admits he originally wanted to be a North Carolina Tar Heel, because he loves basketball and grew up watching Michael Jordan. In fact, he went on an unofficial visit to get a feel for Chapel Hill, but it wasn’t the right fit. Ultimately, Jones found the smaller atmosphere at N.C. State was perfect and credits his time in Raleigh for much of his success.

He took a lot of losses and experienced failure, but Jones got better through it all. Somewhere else, he might’ve gotten “swallowed up” at programs due to a knowledge and exposure gap. His teammates and coaches would’ve been different.

Photos: Take an inside look at swim practice with the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team in Cary

“I think that if I went to any other program, I don’t know that I’d be who I am today,” Jones said. “The group that I had there, it was exactly what I needed.”

Now, it means a lot to see the program and community flourishing and making a splash in the sport he loves. He never could’ve imagined it.

“It’s a dream come true,” Jones said. “I always wanted that for the program, for N.C. State.”

Team USA trains in Cary until Wednesday. Then, it is set to leave for Croatia for its second training period, working with the athletes to adjust to the time difference. Swimming events for the Olympics begin in Paris on July 27.