A Deaflympian Broke Three World Deaf Swimming Records in 5 Days-!
Notre Dame Freshman Carli Cronk is among 1007 (573 men and 434 women) of the nation’s best swimmers, having the same dream to make it on the USA Swimming Team bounding for the Paris Olympics this July. They compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on June 15-23.
Today, Cronk finished swimming in her third and last event - 200m Butterfly - and realized she is not a qualifier.
However, her swimming competitors pulled Cronk to break THREE World Deaf Swimming records in 5 days.
100m Butterfly
New: Carli Cronk at 1:01.29
Old: Carli Cronk at 1:02.28
Trial: Ranked 69th of 76 entries.
Time Behind: 5.35
400m Individual Medley
New: Carli Cronk at 4:53.98
Old: Yue Yue He (China) at 5:04.07
Trial: Ranked 32nd of 43 entries
Time Behind: 15.02
200m Butterfly
New: Carli Cronk at 2:15.06
Old: Yue Yue He (China) at 2:20.03
Trial: Ranked 40th of 52 entries
Time Behind: 8.35
NOTE: Yue Yue He collected 8 Golds, 3 Silvers, and 2 Bronzes in three Deaflympics (2005, 2009 and 2013)
Carli Cronk got 8 Golds in the 2022 Deaflympics, and 11 Golds, 3 Silvers, and one Bronze in the 2023 World Deaf Swimming Championships.
Surprisingly, the Associated Press selected the picture below for distribution to small newspapers all over the USA.
Cronk also holds three Deaflympic records:
1500m Freestyle at 17:33.90.
200m Butterfly at 2:18.40
400m Individual Medley at 4:58.53
After she competed in Indianapolis, I guess Cronk needs a short rest in her beloved town of Hill Country Village. Then, she will continue training at the Rolfs Aquatic Center, next door to the House that Rockne Built, to prepare for the 2025 NCAA Swimming Championships and the 2025 Deaflymmpics in Tokyo.
Howard “Howie” Gorrell attended 13 of the last 14 Deaflympics since 1969 and is a 2004 recipient of the USADSF Jerald M. Jordan Award, given to those who exhibit leadership and continuous participation toward the goals of the Deaflympics and the 2011 Art Kruger Award for demonstrating leadership and constant participation, support and contribution in the USADSF over an extended period.