Lolo Jones said she’s lost more than 20 pounds in transitioning from bobsled back to track and field on the eve of her first race of the season at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The original was to lose 30 plus pounds,” Jones said. “I lost 10 right away. Like within a few weeks, like 10 pounds melted off really quickly. The next 10 were a little bit harder, but just with a stricter diet I was able to get that. The last five to seven have really been tough.”
Jones, 31, is scheduled to compete in a shuttle hurdle relay Friday night at 8, two months after placing 11th in bobsled at the Sochi Olympics.
Jones said she’s at 142 pounds and would like to get to 135 by the U.S. Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., beginning June 25. Her listed weight on her Sochi 2014 bio page was 161 pounds.
“I’ve been non-stop for the last two years,” she said. “Of all the athletes, track and bobsled, I have not taken really a week off. I really needed to kind of enjoy a chocolate cake every now and then and not be stressed that my career would be over.”
Jones re-enters a crowded U.S. field in the 100m hurdles this season, including reigning world outdoor champion Brianna Rollins, 22, and world indoor champion Nia Ali, 25.
Jones said her first workouts for track after Sochi made it feel like she “hadn’t hurdled in years,” according to the Des Moines Register.
“The first time I went over hurdles, my form was pretty much equivalent to how I ran in high school,” she said, according to the newspaper. “I felt awkward, and I was carrying extra weight, so when I was coming off the hurdles the first day my ankles were killing me just because there was too much weight I was carrying and I was smashing my legs into the track. I was very off balance, so getting that back into coordination was pretty tough.”
Jones also made a bit of news with this tweet Thursday, referencing New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda.
I'm out buying pine tar for my neck RT @goQueengo: #DrakeRelays! Where's my shuttle hurdle squad @Bri_Rollin Lolo @va_SHHH_Teezy ready?
— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) April 24, 2014