By KELLY TERPSTRA, Courier sports writer
August 26, 2008 10:57 am
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As she crumbled to the track at National Stadium late Tuesday evening in Beijing, Lolo Jones — the pride of Des Moines Roosevelt High School — felt it.
It came rushing toward her like an out-of-control locomotive.
We all felt it. I wanted to cover my eyes. It was that ugly.
Jones felt it far worse — right in the pit of her stomach — in that deep, dark place that we all fear and want no part of.
Dismay, that quickly turns to anger, then confusion. Tears are usually soon to follow. Jones let them flow.
Failure, especially on her grand stage and in her moment — was too tough to swallow for the track champion from LSU.
If I could have, I would have hugged Lolo right there on the track — then cried with her.
Heartbreaking didn’t describe what went down in the 100-meter hurdle finals last week. Jones wasn’t supposed to be balled up on the floor of The Bird’s Nest, some short distance down from the finish line, with her head in her hands.
That was her gold medal — period. It looked like the final was going to be a repeat of Jones’ semifinal output a day earlier — flawless.
They say things happen for a reason. I’m still trying to figure out that one.
Jones was shocked at the unraveling of a race that she had in the palm of her hand — only to be snatched away at the last second.
“Would you like to see the incredible view from the foyer, it’s an scenic panorama of the ocean. Wait, I’m sorry, this house is no longer for sale.”
“What?, but you said ...“
“No. This house is not for sale.”
In the most important moment in her life, Jones — the favorite to win the event — tripped on the next-to-last hurdle — a gold medal seemingly in her grasp.
In the blink of an eye, the pack behind her swooped in and capitalized on the gaffe, blowing by Jones, who finished seventh after her momentum was clearly deflated — her winning stride suddenly broken.
The fall, the trip, the crash to the earth — in a heartbeat it’s over.
What are you left with? - nothing. Zero, zilch, nada.
Empty. Years of daily practice, energy exerted, muscles toned — all seemingly wasted.
Gail Devers felt it in Jones’ same event in 1992. Mary Decker experienced it in the 3,000 run in 1984. Dan Jansen did as well in the Winter Olympics — twice. Jansen, a speed skater, finally got his gold.
It’s absolutely amazing that 13 seconds can define ones’ career. Not many people will know or probably remember Jones’ three NCAA titles or her World Championship this year. They’ll remember her epic failure in Beijing. That’s how it works for track athletes. The Olympics are their Super Bowl. Careers are defined in front of the world. You fail at the Olympics, you fail in your career.
Jones is a bundle of energy and has the personality to boot. That’s easily identified after just seeing five seconds of her in an interview. Jones probably lost thousands, if not millions of dollars in endorsement deals after her lead foot clipped that hurdle.
Tragedy should turn into triumph, though. For an engaging and charismatic person like Lolo Jones, she deserves it.
“Life comes at you in big hurdles,” said Jones.
She crossed them with class.
Lolo was easily the class of the Olympic field. She proved that in the way she carried herself after her stunning setback. She went out of her way to answer reporter’s questions and held herself together when she had to with dignity. We all should be extremely proud knowing that she’s from Iowa, because she displayed a lot of what it’s like to be from the Hawkeye State.
Four years can feel like a lifetime for a world-class athlete such as Jones. She missed the Olympic cut in the semis in 2004.
Jones will be 30 years old when the 2012 Olympic Games head to London. She’ll be in her prime at that age. Edwin Moses won the 400 hurdles at the 1984 Olympics in L.A. at that very age. Moses won a bronze four years later in Seoul.
Mark it down — that London gold medal is hers.
Sanya Richards was almost as devastated in the 400 meter final on the same night. Richards is Aaron Ross’ fiancé, a cornerback for the New York Giants. Remember him? The same Ross that got torched by Andy Brodell in the Alamo Bowl two years ago.
Jones was devastated after falling from first to seventh in a matter of, well, one second.
Richards was crushed. She was seen crying into her cell phone after the race. Losing doesn’t hurt; it burns to the bone.
These races for these young ladies weren’t running events; they were Jones and Richards’ lives, laid out for billions to watch across the world. So it’s understandable why Jones leaned up against the wall of The Bird’s Nest and let it all out — sobbing in complete amazement and frustration.
It’s almost unbearable to watch these superior athletes on the biggest stage possible do something uncharacteristic.
Jones lost to Dawn Harper, who hails from East St. Louis and snatched the goal medal for the United States. Harper barely made the team and was the last spot on the U.S. squad — by 0.007 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Richards broke out fast — too fast. She led headed into the final turn but was gobbled up in the last 15 meters, eventually taking the bronze. She found redemption on last Saturday as she raced down Russia’s Anastasia Kapachinskaya on the anchor leg to snare gold in the 4x400.
There are things called second chances.
One last thing.
I understand Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, U.S. men’s hoops, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are going to dominate the headlines — which they did in Beijing.
But do you remember a guy by the name of Bruce Jenner? If you don’t, he’s currently starring in the world-renowned “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” reality show. Before his epic turn in that massive piece of TV magic, he won a little thing called the Olympic Decathlon in 1976. He basically propelled the Wheaties box out of the stratosphere and turned it into a bright shiny comet that cranked out millions of dollars like a slot machine. Jenner received massive accolades for his accomplishment of winning 10 events over the course of two consecutive days, which is what goes down in the grueling event.
There was also the U.S’s Dan O’Brien, who was supposed to be the world’s greatest athlete and was hyped that way by Reebok in advance of his “gold medal” in the 1992 Games. He choked and failed to get out of the Olympic Trials. He bounced back and won gold in Atlanta four years later and still received considerable press for his redemptive gold.
Then there’s the United States’ Bryan Clay. Have you heard of him? Probably not. He won the decathlon at this year’s Games and I doubt he even reached the back page of many newspapers.
It’s a shame. He deserved a lot more pub.
Courier sports writer Kelly Terpstra can be reached at kgterpstra@mchsi.com.
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