Lolo Jones

Lori "Lolo" Jones, more commonly known as Lolo Jones, (born August 5, 1982) is an American track and field athlete who specialises in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at LSU. She won indoor national titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the 60 m hurdles, with gold medals at the World Indoor Championship in 2008 and 2010.

She was favored to win the 100 m hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but she tripped on the penultimate hurdle, finishing in seventh place. She went on to win silver at the 2008 World Athletics Final. Jones is the American record holder in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.72.

Personal life

Lolo's birthname is Lori, which is actually the same name of her mother. According to Lolo, it was altered to differentiate her from her mother after telephone calls for simply "Lori" would confuse the two. According to her mother, Lolo was always called that since birth.

A 2005 graduate of Louisiana State University, she currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is sponsored by Asics and Oakley. She is Multiracial of French, Native American, African American, and Norwegian descent. She is also actively involved in Christian Ministry.

Her good friend is Canadian hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep. Jones congratulated Lopes-Schliep for winning the 100 m hurdles final's bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In a CBC Sports XXIX Summer Olympics interview with broadcaster Ron MacLean on August 19, 2008, Lopes-Schliep commented on Jones: "We're good friends. I mean, she came up to me afterwards and said, 'I'm so happy for you guys' (Canada's first track medal since 1996)', like, 'You've been through so much', and she's like, 'right now everything should all come together for you', so she gave me a big hug, you know, I gave her a hug, and a very good sport."

In October 2009, Jones posed semi-nude for ESPN.

Professional career

After a disappointing finish at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Outdoor Trials, Jones finished second in her first professional meet at Stuttgart. She had a stellar 2006 campaign, which saw her win at Heusden-Zolder in July, running a personal best time of 12.56. At the 2006 World Athletics Final, she finished sixth in the 100 m hurdles and fifth in the 100 m. She also did well on the European circuit, winning the meet in Ostrava. She finished the 2006 season ranked fourth in the U.S. and seventh in the world by Track & Field News.

Jones won her first national championship in 2007, winning the 60 m hurdles at the USA Indoor Championships with a time of 7.88 seconds. In the European winter circuit, Jones won two meets and finished second in two others in the 60 m hurdles. In April, she won the 100 meter hurdles at the Drake Relays. At the 2007 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Jones finished third in the 100 m hurdles, thereby earning a spot on the U.S. Team at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where she finished 6th. On the summer track circuit, Jones won meets at Rethimno and Heusden along with second-place finishes at Doha, Sheffield, and Monaco.

2010 and 2011 seasons

Lolo defended her 60m hurdles Indoor World Title in Doha after finishing with a time of 7.72 (a new American record). Due to there being no major championships for Americans, Lolo then traveled to Europe and competed in many countries, mainly Diamond League events. After wins in Doha, Oslo, New York, Gateshead, and Monaco, going into the last Diamond League race, Lolo was tied at the top of the standings along side Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep. Lopes-Schliep won the final race which left Lolo second in the overall Diamond league standings.

Lolo made her 2011 race debut at Aviva International Match, Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. Jones finished the race in fourth position with a time of 8.27 after hitting the third hurdle. A close third place finish then followed in Stuggart, with Jones finishing in 7.94 behind winner Carolin Nytra (7.92) and Christina Vukicevic (7.93). Injury and illness forced Jones to miss the rest of the indoor season.

Charitable contributions to Iowa

While visiting Des Moines for the Drake Relays, she made a surprise visit to her alma mater, Roosevelt High School, to deliver a pair of new Asics running shoes for each member of the school's track team. She also delivered a $3,000 check to buy indoor practice hurdles and for improvements to repair the school's track surface.

In July 2008, while back in Des Moines for a send-off ceremony before the 2008 Summer Olympics, Jones donated her $4,000 prize she earned from winning the 100-meter hurdles at the Olympic trials to Renee Trout, a single mother from Cedar Rapids, Iowa who was hit by the Iowa flood of 2008. Asics and Oakley each matched Jones' $4,000 prize, bringing the total donation to $12,000. After the sendoff ceremony, Jones flew with Trout to Cedar Rapids aboard a private jet provided by the Iowa Farm Bureau to tour the neighborhoods affected by the flood, including Trout's.