Unleash Your Inner Winner

Competitive Tips from Olympian Lolo Jones

Hurdles are what Lolo Jones, 30, knows. Growing up, the U.S. record holder for the 60-meter hurdles went to a different school every year and for a time lived in a church basement as her single mother struggled to pay rent and raise five kids. Jones missed making the 2004 Olympic team. In 2008, she was the favorite to win gold in the 100-meter hurdles in Beijing, but clipped the second to last hurdle, sending her from first to seventh place. This summer, she's looking to redeem herself.

"Man, I was so close to that gold, I tasted it. Everywhere I've gone the last four years, people say, 'Oh, you're that girl who messed up.' I no longer want that reputation."

"Any time a bad thing happens, when I haven't made a team or I've been injured, I think, There's got to be a reason for this. Adversities make you mad, they make you sad, they literally break you down, but if you fight through them, they make you stronger, sharper, and more motivated."

"I put so much energy into coming back from spinal cord surgery last summer -- learning to walk again -- so when I injured my hamstring six months later, my motivation was wiped. Then I started reading a bunch of books, writing down affirmations and goals, and visualizing myself running healthy and superfast. I carry The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale to every race."

"My focus is not even on a gold medal. It's about me having the best possible race. I want to hold my head high and be able to say I put it all on the line."

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, July/August 2012.