Lolo Jones relishes facing long odds yet again at Drake Relays and beyond

DES MOINES — Lolo Jones finds herself in an unusual position.

The decorated veteran hurdler enters the blocks as the epitome of a long shot — both at this weekend’s Drake Relays and in her ambitious quest to earn a spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.

“The odds are always bad,” Jones said Thursday after being inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. “Even in my prime, the odds to be an Olympic athlete, even in your healthy peak, it’s 1 percent. If you don’t know how to overcome odds, you are not destined to be an Olympian.”

Jones already is a three-time Olympian — competing in the Summer Games twice, and the Winter Games once — but her last Summer Olympics came in 2012. The 41-year-old Des Moines native will compete against a stacked field Saturday in her signature event, the 100-meter hurdles. And Jones isn’t here as a hurdler emeritus, no matter the daunting odds as she chases another lofty goal.

“I think I’ve always been driven when more odds are stacked against me and more people tell me I can’t do it,” the two-time world champion said. “Just don’t do it, because then it’s like, ‘Oh, really?’ I love it. I’m a hurdler. I like getting over things that are trying to block my path. That’s my job, so I’m gonna go out there and hopefully impress a lot of people.”

Jones said she’s clocked a 13.11 in the 100 hurdles this season and believes shaving a bit of time off that to achieve the ‘A’ standard of 12.95 — which would likely cement a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials — remains fully within the realm of possibility.

“I’ve probably got a 0.0001 percent (chance), but before the London 2012 Olympics I couldn’t walk,” said Jones, who missed the medal stand by one spot in those Olympics. “I had spine surgery. I had to learn how to walk, run, and then become one of the fastest runners in the world. So my job is to overcome odds. We’re gonna push until it’s an absolute no.”

Jones has broken through barriers and blazed new paths throughout her long career. She became the first four-time winner at the Relays in the 100 hurdles from 2005-08 and earned All-America honors 11 times while competing for LSU.

Jones also stands as one of a select few athletes to have competed in both the Summer (hurdles) and Winter Olympics (bobsled) and has appeared in several films and TV shows.

“The Olympic medal was always so close, yet so far away, but here’s the thing: I never stopped,” Jones said. “And I hope that I can show Iowans that they can be very proud of the person they created because my heart was formed on this track.

“I was inspired watching my first-ever track meet even before I legit had a chance to be an Olympian. This is the track meet that gave me my passion for that, so I hope to represent and throw down for the Iowans on Saturday — and hopefully not throw out my hip as a 41-year-old hurdler.”

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