2-Time Summer Olympian Eyes Winter Games

Lolo Jones has competed in the summer Olympics as a hurdler but has since taken up a new sport, setting her sights on the Winter Games

A two-time summer Olympian is switching tracks and shifting seasons, vying to make it to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Lolo Jones could be one America’s biggest stars at the upcoming Winter Games in Russia. All she has to do now is make Team USA.

Jones, a track athlete and two-time summer Olympian, is coming off a disappointing fourth place finish in the 110m hurdles at the 2012 London Olympics.

Four years earlier, Jones was the face of heartbreak at the Beijing Olympics as what looked to be a gold medal finish fell apart steps from the finish line when she tripped on the second-to-last hurdle.

Now, the summer track star is finding solace on a winter track with the USA Bobsled Team.

“When I went out to Lake Placid and started hanging out with the team, that is when I learned all the benefits you can get with bobsled and how they work so well with track and field, that is when I was definitely hooked,” said Jones.

However, making the team has proven tough.

She is in a battle with several other athletes who are vying to become one of three brakemen on the Olympic team.

In shifting sports, Jones has had to make a lot of personal changes.

She said one of the hardest changes from life on the track and field to life on the bobsled track was gaining weight for her new sport.

The once 133-pound hurdler said she struggled to put on 25 pounds of muscle. She found a recent victory on the scale as she reached 159-pounds – one pound higher than her goal weight.

“I almost did a backflip, which is weird for a girl to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m tipping the scales, yes!’” said Jones. “The only time a female wants to gain weight is when they’re pregnant.”

Though Jones is currently devoting her body, time and passion to bobsled, her love affair with the other track isn’t over. She’s still holding out hope of making it to the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Jones said training from season to season on the two different sports keeps her very busy.

“I have no free time and I don’t get that month where I can just do whatever,” said Jones.

But, as long as she’s on track to her Olympic dreams, she’ll keep at it, no matter the season.
 

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