Lolo Jones

Background

Lori Susan ‘Lolo’ Jones is a professional hurdler and bobsledder known for her skills in 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. She was born on August 5, 1982, in Des Moines to James Jones Sr. and Lori Jones. Jones did not grow up in a wealthy family, as they had to stay in the basement of the Salvation Army when she was in third grade. To pursue her dream of being a runner, she parted ways with her family to study at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. She stayed with Janis Caldwell, who noticed her talent after her senior year. Jones worked part-time at the Iowa Bakery Café while in college. She received degrees in economics and Spanish. At Iowa State, Jons was named “Gatorade Midwest Athlete of the Year ” for the record she set in the track meet with 13.40 seconds for a 100-meter race.

Jones intended to study at Iowa State but changed her mind to look at Louisiana State University. Her career in hurdles began to pick up in 2002, and she was a runner-up in the 100-meter hurdle and 4×100 –meter relay in the N.C.A.A. Outdoor Championships. She later won the 60-meter race in 2003 at the N.C.A.A. Championships. In the 2006 World Athletic Finals, Jones finished sixth in the 100m hurdle and was ranked fourth in the United States and seventh in the world by the monthly sports magazine “Track & Field News.”

In 2007, Jones won her first national championship in the 60-meter hurdle with a record-breaking time of 7.88 seconds. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jones had her most emotional moment when she had a seventh-place finish because she hit the hurdles twice. She was introduced to bobsledding by Elana Meyers after being disappointed in 2008. On November 9, 2012, Jones and her teammate, Jazmine Fenlator, won second place in Jones’ first World Cup bobsledding competition. In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Jones won in the 100-meter heat hurdles with a mark of 12.68 seconds, but in the finals later in the day, Jones finished with a mark of 12.58 seconds, earning her fourth place. Jones won her first season at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo in 2013 when she finished with a time of 12.92 seconds. In 2015, Jones won the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Championships (N.A.C.A.C.) in the women’s 100-meter hurdle with a time of 12.63 seconds. In 2020, she ran her first outdoors in the 100-meter hurdles final and 100-meter Dash final at the Mississippi College Season Opener.

Jones decided to go for the nickname ‘Lolo’ so she wouldn’t bear the same name as her mother. Jones is a devout Christian and often prays before any race. She resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and her sponsors are Asics and Red Bull. She has also involved herself in charitable deeds.