Lolo Jones will be hoping to gain some advantage at his home track on Saturday.
The Des Moines native will compete in the 100-meter hurdles for the Drake Relays at 3 p.m. The event will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Jones has competed in the Drake Relays several times since elementary school, and will have plenty of experience at the Blue Oval this weekend. That could help the 41-year-old hurdler, who is aiming for a time of 12.95 seconds to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
“I'm definitely training to qualify for the Olympic Trials,” Jones said at a news conference Thursday. “I ran 13.11 this year… so I’m almost there.”
Jones competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics as a hurdler. She competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics as a bobsledder.
Jones debated whether to enter the Drake Relays Masters Division. There she will have a chance to break her world record. But Jones made it clear: She's here to compete.
She understands that if she wants to go to the Olympics, competing in an older age category just to win won't help.
“You have a 1% chance of becoming an Olympic athlete, even when you're in the best of health,” Jones said. “If you don't know how to overcome challenges, you're not destined to be an Olympian.”
She is aiming to represent Iowa track and field and got off to a good start ahead of the press conference.
Jones, the first four-time Drake Relays women's 100-meter hurdles champion, was inducted into the Relays Hall of Fame on Thursday afternoon.
She will look to carry that momentum into Saturday's tournament.
And know that Jones plans to play come rain or shine.
“I thought about this,” Jones said. “For selfish reasons, I want to run 12.95 seconds here and get the Olympic selection standard, so I hope the weather is good. That would be amazing. But depending on the weather, some people might not be able to go out. not.
“A local bobsledder will check in. If it's some rain, I've competed in snow and blizzards, so that'll give me a competitive advantage to win.” I'll do anything. It rolls. ”
Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at her ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
