Track star Lolo Jones gives us the tunes she sweats to
Ordinary Life Liquido
I like to warm up to this song because it reminds me that although this is an ordinary life for me, it is not for most. It reminds me to appreciate and take advantage of this opportunity.
Tokyo Drift Teriyaki Boyz
At this point I am finishing my warm-up and have begun lightly stretching. So it's good to remember, fast and furious is what I am aiming for.
Perfekte Welle Juli
I travel a lot in Germany so naturally I have started to take an inclination to some of their artists.
Im'ma Shine Youngbloodz
Big Things Poppin' T.I
You Decide Fireflight
I like this song because running is 90 percent mental. If you can't deal with your doubts they will destroy you.
The Fight The Classic Crime
My favorite line in this song is when it says you can sink or swim.
Game On Disciple
This song is funny to me because I am not a big trash talker but this whole song is basically saying to the other opponents, Are you ready? I am ready for you so you better be!
Galvanize The Chemical Brothers
Relax, Take it Easy Mika
I like to cool down to this song after the race because whatever happens, it's done. Sometimes when things happen in a race you go crazy trying to evaluate what you could've done. This song just tells you to stay cool and relax.
Download the playlist in iTunes!
Source: Women's Health
While her competition hopes to ice Lolo Jones' chances for the gold in Beijing, the world-class hurdler will be a cool attraction at the Iowa State Fair.
A sculptor plans to carve an image of Jones in ice during an ice carving demonstration at the fair, which begins on Thursday.
Ice carving demonstrations will be held daily and Jones is scheduled to be carved into ice on Aug. 17, the same day she is scheduled to compete in the first round of the 100-meter hurdles at the Olympics.
Jones isn't the only Iowa Olympian to have her likeness put on display at the fair. Gymnast Shawn Johnson will be carved in butter alongside the butter cow.
Source: WHO TV
World Indoor champion and newly crowned US champion Lolo Jones is now heading to China to take part in her first Olympic Games. She tells IAAF readers all about it…
“Hi guys,
“This is it. The preparations are all out of the way. No more rehearsals. No more excuses.
“The next time I will step on my blocks will be at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Wow.
“I’m back in Baton Rouge now after my second visit to Europe where I raced in Barcelona, Stockholm and London and I was fairly pleased with how I ran. Three races, three wins and all in the 12.5s and 12.6s which is what I wanted.
“My first race back after winning the US trials in Barcelona was quite tough simply because I was still a little mentally drained after the trials and it was hard even warming up and getting back into the routine.
“Although, it is going to be my first Olympics I feel better prepared than last year when I struggled to peak for the World Championships because I ran too many races.
“It is also important not to over-train or go any specials diets – if I want a piece of cake I’ll have a piece of cake!
“It is also important I put a lid on my training and not do any crazy workouts. Your instincts tell you to train harder but my coach, Dennis Shaver, has to keep telling me rest is crucial at this stage of preparation.
“It is obviously going to be my first Olympic Games and I’m really excited. I keep asking athletes who have made the Olympic team. How is it? What is the atmosphere like? What procedures do you have to go through? I’m also really excited to see other athletes in other sports, like tennis, because I’ve never been to a multi-sports competition.
“I shall also be looking out for Shawn Johnson, a gymnast, from my home city of Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa has a big send off for the two of us, and it is funny that we are both reigning World champions.
“I’ve also noticed since winning the Olympic trials people have started to recognise me. It feels weird people coming up to me when I’ve been shopping and they are offering to buy me dinner.
“Also I was at a gas station recently and someone said: ‘Are you Lolo?’ I said, ‘don’t you want to pay for my gas?’ But they kept on moving. It’s pretty cool, though, that America is finally embracing track. Mind you, I still can’t get a date, though.
“My mum and sister and her kids are going out to Beijing and obviously everyone has been asking me about my expectations going into Beijing. All I want is to run a clean race like I did at the US trials. I need the complete race.
“In Europe I’ve had races partly good and partly not so good. I’ve got to pull it all back together again. It doesn’t mean I have to win in Beijing but I would like a nice clean race.”
Lolo
Source: IAAF
A few weeks ago we had the really cool honor of praying for Lolo Jones at one of our Sunday services at HPC. Lolo is a great young woman who has been faithfully committed to Healing Place for years. Not only is Lolo the 2008 USA Outdoor Champion in 100m Hurdles, 2008 World Indoor Champion in 60m hurdles and BACK to BACK U.S.A. Indoor Champion 60m Hurdles in 2007 and 2008 but she will be representing the USA in the Beijing Olympics!
She said that HPC is a golden church that deserves a gold medal - and she will get us one in China! Wow! Definitely be praying for Lolo, as she is such a great young woman with a generous heart and for the Beijing Olympics as this could be a huge opportunity for the Gospel.
Source: dinorizzo.com
Just a few hours after she won the US Olympic Trials in a wind aided 12.29 - an amazing performance - World Indoor champion Lolo Jones can't sleep...so she decides to write to the IAAF readers...
“Hi again,
“Wow! I am sat here writing my latest diary piece at 3am just over nine hours after I qualified for the Olympic team by winning the US Trials in 12.29!
“I can hardly believe it. I am on such a high I cannot sleep and I’m so excited to finally qualify for the Olympic Games.
“I’m just so pleased the hard work has paid off. Four years ago I didn’t even make the final of the US Olympic Trials and now here I am as the US champion. I’ve always had confidence in my ability and I now think I’m entering my peak.
“I turn 26 next month and I remember the likes of Joanna Hayes and Gail Devers reaching their peak in their late 20s, early 30s.
“I actually really started to freak out ahead of my semi-final. The wind was blowing really strong and I normally don’t like a strong tailwind because it is easier to hit the hurdles and make mistakes.
“I nearly lost it out there, my heart was beating so fast but I had to tell myself to take control of my emotions and believe.
“In the semis I set a new lifetime best of 12.45 and I actually felt better ahead of the final than the semi. At least then I knew I was one of the eight people in the final and I had a good shot at one of the top three places.
“The final was a strange race. When I look back on most of my races I can say I hit hurdle five or whatever but in the final I was like a freight train and I just got into a rhythm. I crossed the line first but it wasn’t until I saw my name on the scoreboard for first place that I dare celebrate.
“People will talk of me threatening the world record of Yordanka Donkova of 12.21 after running 12.29 but people should realise that is a windy mark (a 3.8mps), so we’ll just have to see.
“Since running the final I’ve done a whole bunch of interviews and then gave a urine and a blood sample to the anti-doping people.
“I eventually sat down with my sponsors, Asics, for something to eat around midnight and then briefly spoke to my family on the phone.
“Now I’m sat here writing my diary, and because I’m on such a high I don’t know whether I will get to sleep at all tonight.
“I doubt it.
Til the next time”
Lolo
Source: IAAF
One of the sport’s brightest stars knows that she is needed now more than ever.
The new Oakley ads featuring Lolo Jones hit the stands this spring. The photos of Lolo are crisp black and white, taken as a part of the Oakley ad campaign. In the shots, Lolo stares intently back at the camera, eyes aglow, hot light bouncing off her outfit.
The picture looks like a sports goddess figure, a female superhero. All kidding aside, as far as pro track goes – and the current pro sports world in general right now – Lolo Jones as sports’ guardian angel might not really be all that far off.
Think about what has gone down in pro track circles in the last twelve months: the Mario Jones drug admission, Tim Montgomery, the Trevor Graham Trial, the Dwain Chambers debacle.
While the world’s greatest sport will always win out in the end, these blights have been made worse by the frenzied media. None of the aforementioned events will ever stop any hardcore track & field fan from watching, loving, and following the sport. However, the media has and will continue to seize upon the sport’s issues, looking to pounce on headlines and blowout stories about arrogant, spoiled, drug using athletes. The antidote? Lolo Jones.
Lolo will tell you straight up that she is a reminder that if people believe in something and in themselves that they can do anything. Look at her. She hit a hurdle in 2004 and in the process failed to make the Olympic Team. But Lolo got back up and has since landed two fab sponsors in Asics and Oakley. The 5 foot, 9 inch regular girl from Des Moines, Iowa made it. And she’s had the opportunity to live out some of her wildest dreams.
Lolo hardly needs us to act as her public relations mouthpiece, but nonetheless, it’s hard to deny her All-American, mom-and-apple pie package. She’s easy to champion. In putting together this interview, she was exceedingly pleasant and cooperative. Even so much as following up to make sure that everything was done in order to hit my deadline.
On top of everything, Lolo can run. She is the reigning World Indoor Champion and currently lays claim to 12.57, the fifth fastest time in the world this season. This time puts her in the discussion of the world’s top hurdler.
We caught up with Lolo to talk about her place in the sports world, the Olympic Trials, and one of the most difficult times in her life….
PRJ: Win or lose, what’s the best race you’ve run so far?
LJ: The best race this yearwould have to be when I ran 7.77 indoors. That’s when people began to associate my name with the all-time great Gail Devers. So far outdoors, I've hit my personal best three times now! So I can’t really say a race outdoors. Hopefully the Olympics!
PRJ: Do you think you’ve run as well as you are capable of?
LJ: No. What athlete does though? The moment I think that is the moment, I will cease progress. I honestly can see 12.4, but the moment I hit that, I know I will say to myself I can hit 12.3 and etc.
PRJ: Is there any other hurdler that you’ve been particularly impressed with this season?
LJ: World indoor record holder Susanna Kauller. Her technique is very impressive and she has just good clean hurdling.
PRJ: Grading your own racing from A to F, what would you give yourself and why?
LJ: I would give myself a C plus to B minus. I say this because sometimes my lead leg kicks out to the side and my arm will get long on occasion.
PRJ: I’ve heard you bring up the rough times in ’04 and ’05. How do you think it has affected you and the way you look at track and field?
LJ: Well coming out of college, I wasn’t like the Jermey Warniers or Sanya Richards who signed a six figure contract. After I didn’t make the team in '04, I was broke and essentially without a job. I had my fresh degree in Economics and Spanish, but I knew if I would’ve gone out and got a 9 to 5, that would have been the end of track. So instead, I choose to work two flexible part-time jobs and train. It was hard. I had to live off of credit cards and sometimes it was embarrassing. Now I look back and I am just humble and thankful for those times. I can ride in my car to practice and not have to worry about how I am going to get to practice. I can help provide for my family and others and not worry about if someone can help me. The biggest thing is I see is a lot of the rookies coming out of college every year. Some of them look just like I did four years ago. Confused. Not knowing if they should pursue their dreams or get a job. I just can relate and tell them about my own past experiences.
PRJ: A lot of success has come to you after weathering some storms in the sport?
LJ: A lot of the times I complained and was very depressed while weathering the storms in the sport. But what I have learned is that the storm is what helps give you victory. I would compare it to lifting weights. When you lift weights it is hard and heavy. The weights break your body down, but in the end they make you strong. So storms seem to break you down when you are in them, but they make you strong when you come out.
PRJ: Who is your biggest competition going into the Olympic Trials and what can we expect to see from you performance wise in Eugene?
LJ: Well, normally this is an easy question. This year is quite different as World Outdoor champ Michelle Perry and U.S. Outdoor champ Ginnie Powell have both been hurt and not competing. So, I have no clue where they are in their training. So I would just say that I am my biggest competitor. As that is the case for most athletes anyways. Getting not only over the physical hurdles but the mental ones as well.
PRJ: Right now the sport world is going through a series of negative story lines—NBA ref Tim Donaghy, Marion Jones, Michael Vick, the Trevor Graham trial, and track and field is dealing with some of its own issues. You seem to be the natural antithesis of those things.
LJ: It’s crazy. I really never thought their decision to cheat would effect me, until one day I introduced myself to someone at a track meet. The person looked at me weird for awhile and fnally said, "your not that one that cheated are you?" I got associated with a drug cheat, because I have of one of the worlds most common last names in Jones.
Also, it’s an Olympic year and track is always in the prime time viewing. I just found out that the prime time Olympic sports will be Swimming and Gymnastics, not Track. Those are just little things, but the reality is that there are athletes sitting at home who got second to Marion or other drugs cheats. It's frustrating and heart breaking to know that they will never receive that moment in their life . No one wants to receive their medal via fedex.
PRJ: After missing the ’04 Olympic squad, what would making the ’08 Olympic Team mean to you and your family? You danced in Boston after winning the Visa Indoor Championship series title.
LJ: It's universal. Even a person who has never competed in athletics before, can understand what a great honor it is to have a chance to represent your country and fellow Americans. So it would just be a huge honor to represent my country. A huge honor.
Thank you for making this interview happen and we wish you the best at the Olympic Trials and with the rest of your season.
By Jay Hicks.
Source: Prerace Jitters
World Indoor champion Lolo Jones has finally returned home from her early season European tour and not only is she getting ready for the US Olympic Trials, she can finally feel nice and clean!
“Hi again,
“After three weeks on the European circuit I’m putting my finishing touches to my preparations for the US Olympic Trials back home here in Baton Rouge.
“It is always great to be back home again and one of the big advantages is I can have two one-hour massages a week to ease the stress on my tired and aching limbs.
“When I’m in Europe I often have to rely on what the meet organiser provides, which is often only 30 minutes.
“Overall, I was pleased with my five outings on the European tour (Lolo won three and placed second and third in the other two) because it showed I’m a versatile runner.
“If I have a bad start, or a stumble it doesn’t matter because I’m still going to have a good race.
“It showed me that if I put together all the elements I’ll enjoy my perfect season. I had a little hip pain for my last race in Ostrava but I was pleased I could still run in the 12.60s.
“Berlin was good because it is the earliest point in the season that I’ve run that fast (12.57) and even though I had some technical issues in Oslo I still ran well.
“When I last wrote my diary I mentioned I lost my luggage, but although I had no such problems this time I did face another difficulty – I had no access to a washer and dryer around Europe for so long I started to stink!
“I travelled to Europe for three weeks but I can’t pack for three weeks because I’ll get charged for extra baggage. You pack clothes which will last a week and you end up washing them in the hotel sink.
“You can use the hotel washer but it is really expensive, so by the end of the trip all you want to go home to use your washer and dryer again.
“Besides enjoying wearing clean clothes the reality has dawned on me that the US Olympic Trials are almost upon us. We are one of the final events on the programme, so I guess they have saved the best until last in what will be a very competitive race.
“People ask me would you prefer to have your event earlier in the schedule but it really doesn’t bother me either way.
“I just know I am much better prepared for the experience having gone through the whole process four years ago. On that occasion I was fresh out of college and my eyes were wide open like a bug. But I’ve learned to handle my emotions better and I’m used to regularly performing on the European circuit in front of large crowds.
“Everyone is keeping their distance from me at the moment. I don’t think they want to unleash the dragon. I’m like a race horse ready to go. But am I confident I can secure Olympic qualification? Yes, I am.
“I’ve learned so much and the 100m Hurdles is the type of event where experience really counts.”
Lolo
Source: IAAF