You expect Olympic athletes to be in shape, but you don’t expect them to look like this. The fact that she could easily moonlight as a model, however, doesn’t mean that Jones has had life handed to her. Growing up in poverty in Des Moines, IA, Jones didn’t have a real place to call home until she was 18, and took up track so she could literally run to a better life. Pointing out the symbolism of her career as a hurdler would almost be too easy—unlike the years of work she has put in to reach this point in her life. Today, Jones is one of the fastest women on Earth (no, not like that), the American record holder in the 60m hurdles, and a heavy favorite to win gold in London. And if she does end up taking up modeling, well, you won’t hear us complaining.
M&F: What did you take away from the Beijing 2008 Games
LJ: It wasn’t my time to win the gold medal. I used the time from 2008 until now to really sharpen my game. There were some weaknesses I needed to fix. There is that saying, “You are only as strong as your weakest muscle.”
What do you when you are not training?
I like to tweet.
You just sit on your sofa tweeting?
Most likely my bed. I’m mad because I created an account for my dog and Twitter suspended it.
Why? Was he being inappropriate?
Well, he is a dog so a self-portrait of himself is technically a naked photo.
Is it true that you’ve dated guys you met through Twitter?
People think I’m lying but I have. I don’t want to say their names—obviously the dates didn’t work out, but I’ve been on at least four dates from Twitter.
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How does that even happen?
I go through my followers on a regular basis. Or they may hit me up, grab my attention, and I’ll follow them. Or, I’ll say I’m going out, like if I’m going to L.A.. It’s not like send me a tweet and I will go on a date with you the next day. That’s never how it has worked out. It’s always been at least like three months of going back and forth and checking the person out.
So what grabs your attention on Twitter?
A tweet that would catch my eye would be a joke or a picture. Or something inspirational, like something you would tweet to a friend. I read about 90% of my tweets and probably respond to about five or ten.
How about Twitter turn-offs?
I hate it when a guy is like, “Come to New York, let’s go on a date.” I’m like, “I’m pretty sure my schedule is way busier than yours.” I had this person say, “You should come up to northern Louisiana and come on a date.” I was like, “Are you kidding me? I have three practices a day right now and I’m traveling, and you want me to go on a date with you and you don’t even want to drive down to me?” That blew my mind.
What about in the gym? Is that a bad time for a guy to approach you?
I think it’s actually one of the better times if it’s done the right way. But I rarely get hit on in the gym. Most of the time guys will just look at me from afar. Maybe they’re like “Oh, she’s working out so I should respect her zone.” I can respect that because a lot of times I’m just coming in to get a quick workout. But I’m friendly in the gym. I realize sometimes that is the best time to talk. I’ll say hi or talk if you come up to me.
