Lolo Jones: Why Her Celebrity Status Will Hurt Her Come Race Day

Lolo Jones has the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Or, at least that’s what it must feel like.

Jones isn’t favored to win the women’s 100-meter hurdles like she was in Beijing. In London, she’s already against the odds, and the added pressure of constantly being in the spotlight won’t help her.

Four years ago, Jones had the gold medal within her grasp, but a collision with the second-to-last hurdle sent her to her knees. In a recent interview with Time’s Sean Gregory, Jones was brought to tears by a single question: What was her gut reaction to the word "choke"? Lolo answered:

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Nobody has ever asked me that question. I really just put too much pressure on myself. If people want to consider that choking, if they want to use that terminology for me, I completely understand. I’m not going to argue with them.

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Jones may put too much pressure on herself, but it’s completely justified.

No competition is more do or die than the Olympics. It comes just once every four years. There’s so much riding on one event—thousands of days training for a single shot at gold—and one slip-up makes all of that in vain.

Lolo’s slip-up was heart wrenching. She was the best—the fastest women’s hurdler on the planet, but because of a rare gaffe, she failed to reap the rewards of that title. Jones didn’t quit, though.

She told Time that people’s reaction to her story helped fuel her comeback attempt. Jones said: “So many people have said they saw my story in Beijing—they’re inspired, they picked themselves up. I just want to have this story for all of us.”

Not only is Lolo running for herself, but she’s running for those inspired. That’s added pressure.

At 29 years old, this is Jones’ last chance to compete for Olympic gold. Her situation truly is win or go home—for good. The last thing she needs right now is the media compromising her focus.

If Lolo bounces back and wins gold, her comeback would be film-worthy. But the odds continue to be stacked heavily against her thanks to attention without an off switch.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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