Jordan Crooks Shares How Consistency Leads to Victory: ‘Get Out, Stay Out, Finish Out In Front’
No swimmer may face more pressure than a sprint freestyler. Every moment of hard training comes down to just milliseconds, defeat and victory separated by a blink. It’s heavy stress for the athlete, requiring a mental toughness that cannot be taught. But for world champion and world-record holder Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands, there’s been one way to handle the spotlight: “Don’t overcomplicate it.”
“I just try to get out in front, stay out in front, and finish out in front,” Crooks recently told Swimming World in an interview. “I trust my training and my body to do so.”
The assessment seems easy, especially for an athlete as talented as Crooks. But through mental consistency, the Tennessee sprinter has splashed his way to the best in the world. He recently set the world record in the short-course version of the 50 freestyle at the World Short Course Championships. Swimming World spoke with Crooks about his mental outlook on sprinting, hoping to learn how the world’s fastest man balances swimming’s roughest waves.
Starting Strong
Crooks’ consistency begins at the start of his day, a place of struggle for many athletes. But in a sport where pre-race jitters often coincide with breakfast, he looks to find a sense of control through the practice of visualization.
“I look to visualize the best outcome (when I wake up),” he said. “It allows me to practice perfect timing on all aspects of my race.”
Visualization has become a common practice in swimming, utilized by multiple coaches and athletes, and emphasized as a helpful art by sports psychologists. But where the Tennessee swimmer differs is his use of the technique for races he’s previously swam.
“I play (the previous) race over in my mind and look for hiccups,” he said. “I’m looking to find any areas where I can fine-tune (the race).”
Through searching for mistakes on race day, Crooks provides a path for self-improvement. Even early in the morning, the swimmer is set for success.
Warming Up
The uniformity of Crooks’ day continues as he begins to warm up for his race. Warmup and pre-race routines can be a swimmer’s greatest friend, or worst foe. It’s a way to prime the body for performance, but overdoing it can lead to doom. By combining this uniformity with awareness of his body, Crooks once again establishes a soothing consistency.
“I usually like to be moving a lot, but it depends on the day and the soreness,” Crooks said. “I want to get the heart rate moving without getting too sore.”
The swimmer pointed to a mix of static and active stretching as essential to finding this balance, alongside some “explosive movements” in the pool. But the most surprising piece of pre-race preparation might be the attention that Crooks pays to the meet’s starter. The swimmer’s preparation and attention to detail involves sitting and listening to the starter throughout the meet, trying to find an advantage.
“We’re seeing more variability in starters’ cadences than ever before,” Crooks noted. “I look to be prepared for all kinds of starts…I try to react to the starter’s cadence and react accordingly.”
Through this approach, one of the race’s biggest variables is controlled, giving the swimmer pre-race stability.
Blocking Out the Noise
As the race begins, the pressure reaches its climax for most swimmers. But through Crooks’ control over training and preparation, no moment is too big. He sees each meet as an opportunity, treating the competitions with a similar approach. Consequently, when major meets arise, they feel like any other.
“You’re (just) doing the same race against different people, with different people watching you,” he said.
Preparing Physically
While ensuring mental soundness is crucial, it’s impossible without physical consistency in the pool. Most sprinters create this consistency by training specifically for sprint races, practicing starts and finishes, and remaining powerful over short distances. However, the Tennessee swimmer does things differently, attacking his practices as a mid-distance swimmer.
“I still train for the 200,” Crooks said, noting that he takes on a mix of heavier yardage with his sprint work at the University of Tennessee. “The yardage has been super beneficial to the back half of races. Training for the 200 has helped me finish in the long course 100. Training for the 100 has helped my 50, and so forth.”
Longer yardage has been a secret to balancing college swimming and international swimming, working to be successful in both pool distances. Crooks’ training allows him the confidence to succeed, giving him the aforementioned “trust” in his training to guide him to victory.
Jordan Crooks is set to stay in the spotlight, and his detailed nature plays a critical role in his performances. By eliminating variability in his day, he has established a successful and consistent path to success.