Lolo Jones showed up in Lake Placid three weeks ago, unsure where her first foray into bobsledding could lead.
The answer might be another Olympics — only this time, the winter one.
Jones,
a two-time Olympic hurdler, was one of 24 athletes announced Thursday
as members of this season's U.S. bobsled team, something that gives her
the chance to vie for a spot on the World Cup circuit this winter and,
possibly, represent her country at the 2014 Sochi Games.
"This is a breath of fresh air — cool, very cool, cold air," Jones said.
It's also what she said she desperately needed.
It's
been a rocky few months for Jones, who was criticized by even some of
her own track teammates at the London Games for the enormous attention
she generates — and how that attention isn't always in line with
accomplishment. She was the gold-medal favorite before hitting a hurdle
and finishing seventh at Beijing in 2008, then managed only a
fourth-place finish in London this summer.
So
in Lake Placid, she's tried to avoid the spotlight, even asking her new
bobsled teammates if they're comfortable having her around.The answer has been a resounding yes.
"I didn't have a lot of time to get to know Lolo through the media," U.S. women's bobsled coach Todd Hays said. "These three weeks, I've gotten to know her as an athlete. And she surprised me every day with how dedicated she is. The one word I keep coming back to is, she's such a competitor. She cannot accept not being good at something. She gets up earlier than everybody else, goes to bed later, constantly trying to get better."
Olympic sprint gold medalist Tianna Madison
— part of the world-record-setting 4x100-meter relay team in London —
also made the team as a push athlete. They're the ones tasked with
helping get the sled moving down the icy chute, then jumping into the
back seat for the bumpy ride to the finish.
The first time she
went down the mountain, Jones was ready to quit — and remembers looking
around for the ambulance, just in case.A few runs later, she was hooked.
"Definitely a thrill," Jones said.
It was Hays who set this idea in motion when he invited U.S. track Olympic veterans Jones, Madison and Hyleas Fountain
to the bobsled push championships earlier this month. Hays wanted to
have accomplished athletes around his bobsled team to raise morale, and
also wanted to see if he could strike gold by tapping into the track
world — as bobsled has done countless times in the past — to find
someone strong and speedy enough to push sleds.
Fountain would have been a strong candidate to make the team if she hadn't gotten slightly injured.
"The
obvious is their athleticism and that's why we invited them here," Hays
said. "The other incredible quality about them, which was not known to
me until they got here, was how competitive and dedicated they are in
their pursuit of athletic excellence. They're just great competitors and
have become students of the game, just absolutely driven to succeed in
whatever they try."Jones still plans to compete in hurdles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Only now, a trip to Sochi might come first. As of now, she's planning to take part in the next outdoor track season like usual. She's passing on the indoor track season to pursue the bobsled idea.
"I just came
out here and kind of needed to get away from track for a bit, kind of
wanted to get some motivation," Jones said. "I thought coming out here
with the other girls that we could help each other, we could benefit
from one another. I could help them with their speed and they could help
me with my strength. And just being around them, hearing their goals
gave me new goals and refreshed me."
When Madison and Jones showed
up for the push championships — which take place on dry land — neither
had done any real training since the London Games."Once they were revved up, things started clicking for both of us," Jones said. "It kind of overwhelmed us quite quickly."
And
one of the things Jones said attracted her to bobsledding was that,
traditionally, it's the pilot — not the push athlete — who gets
virtually all the attention after races.
If that holds true, Jones might be thrilled."When I came here, I didn't want any distractions," Jones said.
Other women in the push-athlete mix are 2010 Olympian Emily Azevedo, world championship medalist Katie Eberling, Lake Placid start-record-holder Aja Evans and former Cal track athlete Cherrelle Garrett.
Three
women's pilots are on the roster: reigning world championships bronze
medalist Elana Meyers will drive USA-1, Jamie Greubel will drive USA-2
and Jazmine Fenlator will be at the controls of USA-3. Coaches will
likely determine next week which three push athletes work with the
drivers for the first World Cup event of the season. Because that's six
women vying for three roles, there's no guarantee that Jones or Madison
would start on the World Cup circuit.
The men's roster had few
surprises. World and Olympic champion Steven Holcomb will drive USA-1,
with Nick Cunningham in USA-2 and Cory Butner in USA-3.
Push
athletes Steve Langton, Justin Olsen and Curt Tomasevicz helped the
"Night Train" sled driven by Holcomb to the world title last year, and
all are back this season. Coaches chose nine other men's push athletes
as well: Adam Clark, Johnny Quinn, Chuck Berkeley, Laszlo Vandracsek,
Chris Fogt, Dallas Robinson, Jesse Beckom, Andreas Drbal and Nic Taylor.
The
U.S. skeleton roster will be announced next week after team selection
races end in Park City, Utah. World Cup racing for bobsled and skeleton
opens in Lake Placid on Nov. 8.
Source : Yahoo News
