The World Indoor 60m hurdles champion, who shot to worldwide fame when she tripped on a hurdle whilst leading the Olympic final in Beijing, tells spikesmag.com about the tough disjointed upbringing that formed the basis of her success as an elite athlete.
“My mum was pretty broke all the time and moved around from job to job while my dad was in and out of prison. My mum had five kids to look after and would take a temporary job and we often could not afford to pay the rent. We moved around so much I lived in eight houses in eight years.
“My mum always made sure we had food in our bellies. She had a part college education, so took secretarial jobs but they were often temporary jobs
“My dad may have been in and out of jail but he was a very good father when he was around. We would see him one year and then he would not be around for three. As a kid you don’t know that’s not regular. We would visit him to jail but often never know the reason why he was in.
“For a spell we were homeless and so lived in the basement of a church. When day camps were offered at church I woke up early to avoid being teased be the other kids in case they found out I was living in a basement.
“I was always very independent, a real bookworm but I was always involved in sport. I started off playing basketball and started my athletics life in sixth grade as a long distance runner.
“At High School I was always very academic and I had the chance of an academic scholarship in science but it conflicted with my athletics. If you asked me to choose between a science competition and a track meeting, I would always run at the track meet. I saw track as the way I could get an education and a free scholarship.
“I’m very close to my sister and all my siblings were pretty athletic they just had other distractions and could not keep their focus at school.
“I played the violin and cello but often could not keep practicing because of my other interests. I still play now but just for recreation.
“My mum wanted to move to Forest City in Iowa but I would not leave my High School because Forest City did not have a track. I lived with four families in four years to pursue my track and field career and my mum was totally supportive.
“It was hard living with different families. I had to become accustomed to their rules and sometimes it could be very strained, particularly as I was a teenager at the time.
“My mum is also called Lori like me, I get called Lolo to avoid any confusion. She is very proud of me but I’m sure she would be proud of me whatever I would have done in my life.
"Athletics has saved my life in three ways. First it has got me out of poverty. Second it has got me a free education, and third it has become one of the joys of my life. Even when I'm working out and being sick I enjoy it. I love pushing my body to the limits of what it's capable of."
Source: Spikes Magazine
By Pat Shaver
About 250 middle school students representing 46 schools attended the Super-Power Summit at the Polk County Convention Complex on Wednesday, an all-day event aimed at teaching them how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
And guess who had them jumping and stretching?
"You only get one body to live your life in, and you have to get out and be active," said Olympic athlete Lolo Jones, keynote speaker of the event.
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Before she spoke, Jones taught the kids a few different exercises.
"I run track, and I'm a little tired," she said after the exercises.
Jones compared the body to a race car. Drivers, she said, fill up their cars with premium gas and don't leave the car in the garage until the day of the race.
Each school had two to nine students at the event.
Carrie Scheidel, a member of Iowa Partners: Action for Healthy Kids, which helped plan and fund the event, said the goal was for the students to take what they learned back to their peers.
"Middle school kids have a lot of pressures. Nutrition and physical activity can really help them shine," Scheidel said.
Each school that attended is eligible to apply for a grant for up to $1,500. Scheidel said the students will meet with a teacher and come up with a wellness plan for their school and then apply for the grant.
The hope is for the students to create small changes that they can keep going over the school year, Scheidel said. The grants are funded by the Midwest Dairy Council, Iowa Partners: Action for Healthy Kids and the Iowa Department of Education.
Jayde Murray, 13, from Goodrell Middle School, said she is going to try to get her friends and family to exercise more, and avoid fast food.
"I was excited to hear about what else you could do to exercise, and you can get more energetic from eating fruits and vegetables," Murray said.
Nicole Gibson, 13, and Colby Knight, 14, from Urbandale Middle School, hope to influence their peers to get outside and eat healthy.
"If you give up a short-term pleasure for long-term gain, it can help you be a better athlete," Gibson said.
Jones said her favorite foods were chicken wings, baby carrots and cottage cheese. Her hero is her assistant Kim, who used to run track and has always been an inspiration.
"Just because you're from Iowa doesn't mean you can't be a superstar at the national level," Jones said. "That never deterred me from my dreams. I never gave up."
Source: The Des Moines Register
By Pat Curtis
Olympian Lolo Jones talks with kids in Des Moines.Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones, who grew up in Des Moines, made her first public appearances in Iowa Wednesday since her agonizing exit from the summer games.
Jones paid a visit to a Des Moines inner-city shelter for women and children. She posed for pictures, handed out plastic gold medals to the kids and even participated in a sack race...which she won.
"Yeah, ya know, I finally pulled off a victory, so I'm excited about that," Jones joked after crossing the finish line. "Can I please have my medal?" In Beijing this summer, Jones had a commanding lead in the finals of the 100-meter hurdles, before she clipped one of the last hurdles and stumbled to a 7th place finish.
It was a painful moment, but Jones says it's made her a stronger person. The mistake likely cost Jones from landing millions of dollars worth of endorsements. "(Winning the Olympics) would have been life-changing for me, but instead of life-changing in bank deposits, it's life-changing in character lessons. I'll take that," Jones said. The 26-year-old Jones is planning another Olympic run in 2012.
Lolo Jones competes in sack race."Hurdlers normally peak between the ages of 28 to 33. I'll turn 30 that summer, so I'll be in my prime," Jones said. A public ceremony to honor Jones is scheduled for Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines.
Listen to a short interview here.
Source: Radio Iowa
Taken at a kid charity event in Des Moines on October 8, 2008
'As far as all of us are concerned, she's a winner,' fan says
A gold medal may have eluded Lolo Jones in Beijing, but she garnered a golden moment in her homecoming to Des Moines on Friday.
An overflow crowd of about 400 people came out to the Jordan Creek Amphitheater in West Des Moines to welcome the Olympic hurdler home. After a brief ceremony, she went inside to sign autographs for a line of people that stretched at least 200 feet long.
It seemed like all 400 people had a Lolo story to tell. Janet Bannister of Des Moines remembered Jones from 10 years ago. Bannister's son, Chris, and Jones both were track runners at Roosevelt High School, and Jones had dinner at the Bannisters' home once.
"She was the first and only girl my son brought home for dinner," Bannister said. "She was just very beautiful, a warm, friendly person, and shy. Very polite. A great sense of humor."
Bannister said she admired Jones.
"I just love this woman. She didn't have an easy life. She makes you proud to be from Iowa," Bannister said. "It was a wonderful feeling (watching the Olympics) just to know that I had met her. As far as all of us are concerned, she's a winner."
Mykal Sadler, 10, had a Drake Relays champions flag to be autographed on Friday. Mykal was reaching out from the front row to high-five Jones during her victory lap at the 2006 Relays when Jones handed her the flag.
And Mykal and a friend, Nadine Phanfil, ran on the Des Moines Youth track team. It's not only the same team that Jones ran on, but Phanfil's mother, Kendra, was a teammate of Jones.
"We have all of her clippings," said Mykal's mother, Eleena. "Then, when we found out this summer that Lolo ran for Des Moines Youth, that made the connection even more so."
Nadine said that she'd like to follow in Jones' speedy footsteps.
"I really want to be fast and have all the records," she said.
Twins Brianna and Lauren Kline, 11, waited in line with their mother and two toddler sisters. Brianna had a photo of Jones that she wanted to get autographed.
"I want something to show my sisters when they grow up," Brianna said.
Patti Cale-Finnegan and daughter Alice, 7, wanted an Olympic souvenir hat autographed.
"My daughter was born in China and we visited in 2007," Cale-Finnegan said. "It was kind of cool that it was in China, so we paid attention with everything that was going on with the Olympics. And Lolo Jones is such a wonderful role model; she's amazing."
The welcome-back ceremony lasted about a half-hour. Jim Hallihan of the Iowa Games presented Jones with the Games' sportsmanship gold medal that read "Pursuing victory with honor."
An unscripted moment during the ceremony came courtesy of Jay Triplett, 74, of Winterset.
Dressed as Uncle Sam - complete with a white beard, a stars-and-stripes hat, a blue coat, and red and white striped pants - Triplett grabbed the microphone and sang "God Bless Lolo" to Jones.
Jones, who earlier attended an assembly at Roosevelt High School, said she was wowed by the good wishes she has received since returning to Des Moines.
"I am so glad that people came out to support me," Jones said.
"The Olympics were six weeks ago. For people to come out and tell me that I've inspired them - I love it. There's other people that received medals and didn't receive any kind of welcoming home from their own cities. It's amazing. I'm truly blessed to be from Iowa."
Source: The Des Moines Register
Lolo Jones returned to Iowa and thrilled Roosevelt High School students with a surprise visit to her alma mater and signed autographs for hours at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Lolo greets hundreds of fans at Jordan Creek. She was scheduled to sign autographs until 7 p.m., but stayed later because the line was so long.
Earlier on Friday Lolo made a surprise visit to her alma mater and thrilled fans at a Roosevelt pep assembly.
Crossing her fingers, Lolo Jones laughed as she reacted to question from Channel 13 Sports Director Keith Murphy. Jones was interviewed moments before her homecoming celebration held at the amphitheater at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines on Friday, Oct. 10th.
Lolo Jones smiled as she held out for the crowd to see the medal that was presented to her by Jim Hallihan, executive director of the Iowa Sports Foundation.
Lolo Jones signed a 2008 Beijing Olympics shirt for David Weiss, of Urbandale, at her homecoming celebration held at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Bea Winters, of Adel, held a copy of the Des Moines Register with a photo of Lolo Jones as Winters attended the homecoming celebration.
Lolo Jones acknowledged the applause of the crowd at her homecoming celebration held at the amphitheater at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Jordan Selmer, age 12 of Story City, signed a large card for Lolo Jones at her homecoming celebration.
Lolo Jones addressed the crowd at her homecoming celebration held at the amphitheater at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Lolo Jones smiled as she waved and held out for the crowd to see the medal that was presented to her by Jim Hallihan, executive director of the Iowa Sports Foundation.
Lolo Jones, right, pumped her fist as she was serenaded by Jerry Triplett, of Winterset, who dressed as Uncle Sam sang as song with his own lyrics about Jones.
Lolo Jones, center right, talked with Keith Murphy, Channel 13 Sport Director, at her homecoming celebration held at the amphitheater at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Holding her Iowa Games medals, Morghan Jackson, age 8 from Urbandale, posed with Lolo Jones at Jones' homecoming celebration.
Lolo Jones, right, autographed her poster for Jennifer Stilwell, age 7 of East Des Moines, at Jones' homecoming celebration.
Lolo Jones smiled as she held up letter with art work given to her by Jessica Stilwell, of Urbandale, at Jones' homecoming celebration.
Lolo Jones reacted to the cheers from the crowd at her homecoming celebration held at the amphitheater at Jordan Creek Town Center.
Source: The Des Moines Register