Olympic track athlete Lolo Jones invaded the world of Winter Olympics with an impressive start.
(Photo: Reuters/Dylan Martinez)Lolo Jones (L) of the U.S. clears a hurdle with Canada's Phylicia George in their round 1 women's 100m hurdles heat during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium Aug. 6, 2012.Jones, whose specialty is in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles, was among a group of U.S. track Olympians who were invited to the bobsled team's push championships by coach Todd Hays last month.
Jones and her pilot, Jazmine Fenlator, began the winter games with an impressive start, taking second place with a combined two-run time of 1 minute, 57.01 seconds. They came in just .05 second behind national push champion Aja Evans and her pilot Jamie Greubel, who set a track push record of 5.43 seconds.
Hays told the Associated Press that he decided to invite that track athletes onto the team in hopes that they would "share their Olympics experiences with our athletes and to help boost team morale." According to the AP, bobsledding coaches also have a long track record of attempting to go after Olympic runners.
Either way, Jones seems ready and willing to accept the challenge.
"I'm just trying to take it all in," Jones said. "It's a new sport for me and there's a ton of room for improvement. ... I'm coming in here trying to learn everything quickly. I'm looking forward to fixing some things and hammering it out."
Jones and Fenlator finished as leaders after their first run of the competition and are now possible contenders for a World Cup team spot. That could mean a huge adjustment for the track athlete, who failed to reach her full Olympic glory. She was favored to win the gold during the 2008 Beijing Olympics but tripped during the 100m hurdles, finishing in seventh place. During the 2012 Olympics, Jones finished the same race in fourth.
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