Olympian Lolo Jones' Great Advice on How She Deals With Haters

JM: Do you have any mentors that you look up to?

LJ: Running-wise, I always looked up to runner Gail Devers. She was one of the first people that congratulated me when I broke her American record.

JM: Where do you see your life and your career five years from now, or even 10 years from now?

LJ: Five years from now, hopefully I'll be polishing my Olympic gold medals, and then sitting on the couch eating bonbons. And watching other athletes compete at the Olympics, of course.

JM: You're coming off two surgeries this past year—one on your shoulder, and the other on your hip—and a few career disappointments. Rio will be your fourth Olympic competition, and you're determined to take home the gold medal. What's your game plan?

LJ: Last year was one of the worst seasons of my career. I was missing key things in my workouts, so I started doing workouts with Orangetheory Fitness; they have science-based workouts that use a heart-rate monitor. I did allergy tests, and I talked to a sports psychologist too—just things that I've really never done before.

Sometimes the littlest thing can make the greatest impact. When the doctors originally told me I needed surgery, they said there's no chance I'd be able to run indoors, and that I'd be pushing it to get back in shape for outdoors. But now I'll be running indoors at the end of this month. I'll be right there for the start of the season. I'm at a really good place right now.

JM: You grew up with a single mother, and moved around a lot as a kid. How did that experience form you as a young athlete and woman?

LJ: My dad was in and out of prison, and he'd come back, and make an honest effort, but my mom was a single mother to five kids. The main thing I learned from her is how to be a hard worker. A lot of times she'd have to have two jobs. I'd see her just really grinding it out, and just exhausted. I did not make my first Olympic team. So I had to go get a job, and train, and compete on top of it. It was like having three jobs. I had my mom as a great example of how to really fight through the wilderness.