Lolo Jones, who exploded to international fame during the Summer Olympics as a hurdler, has gained 20 pounds in preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where she will participate on the United States bobsled team.
In a recent interview with USA Today Sports, Jones said, "I'm the heaviest ever in my life. It took so much work. I'm three pounds away from my ultimate goal. I'm pumped about this muscle weight. My abs are still there. I'm still cut, just super solid."
While she has typically been obsessive about keeping her weight down to be in prime sprinting form, bobsledding requires an entirely different body type. "Pilots don't like these skinny brakemen so they feel like they're pushing more weight than they have to," Jones said. She added that a common mantra among bobsledders is "mass pushes mass."
She also said very few people understand bobsledding, or the tremendous sacrifices necessary to succeed in it.
"People are just so confused," Jones said. "Bobsled brings a lot of confusion in itself because really the only informative things we have out there is (the Jamaican bobsled movie) Cool Runnings and that's not quite accurate."
While Jones has clearly dedicated herself to the United Stats bobsled cause, it appears another sport may have already caught her fancy; skeleton.
"I hate to say this, but after the Winter Olympics, I'd like to try skeleton," Jones said. "Not anything serious. Just want to go down and see." According to reports, a U.S. skeleton coach told Jones that skeleton would've been a wiser choice for her, because she wouldn't have required the massive weight gain. "He said, 'You wouldn't have had to gain the weight, go back and forth,'" Jones explained.
Lolo was also clear that her intention is to return to hurdling following the Sochi Games. "There's a process where I'll definitely be crazy on wheels," Jones said. "It'll be a change because I can't eat candy anymore."
There will be a lot of things she can't do anymore, including late-night bacon double cheeseburger runs to McDonalds or mixing protein shakes with whipped cream.
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