Lolo Jones is not backing down after a troubling incident involving Team USA. In February 2025, she boarded a team-issued bobsled at the Olympic Training Facility in Lake Placid, New York, where the US team was testing equipment prior to the world championships. The sled reached speeds nearing 90 miles per hour.
At the end of the run, Jones realized something was terribly wrong. Her lower back was burned, she couldn’t bend down, and she had lost control of her bladder.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life,” Jones remarked. She quickly consulted her athletic trainer about her symptoms.
This wasn’t her first time dealing with intense physical challenges; Jones competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics as a hurdler and the 2014 Winter Olympics as a bobsled brakewoman. With championships in both sports under her belt, she was no stranger to pain, yet this felt distinctly different.
Her trainer arranged treatment for her, but the sports medicine director at the Lake Placid Training Center canceled it, claiming she had already received treatment that week. Jones had no idea the cancellation had taken place when she showed up for her appointment.
She was hurt, scared, and mere days away from the most significant race of her season.
Then came the notice: she was barred from the Olympic training facility, which included access to rehabilitation areas and weight rooms. While officials stated she had violated the facility’s code of conduct, Jones contended that they never specified which rules she supposedly broke or provided her an opportunity to defend herself.
According to sources, officials at USOPC later admitted that the halted treatment should not have been canceled. Jones expressed her frustration in a meeting just before the world championships but still found herself under restrictions.
“I expressed my frustration that athletes should have access to medical care,” she noted. “It just kept escalating.”
Her symptoms indicated something much more serious than just soreness. Severe lower back pain coupled with bladder issues can suggest nerve compression in the lower spine. Cauda equina syndrome, which can lead to severe complications like paralysis, is often flagged by symptoms like urinary incontinence and significant backache.
Despite her condition, no one at the facility examined her, ordered any imaging, or explained the potential severity of her injuries. Left without a diagnosis, she did what many elite athletes might: she kept going.
Jones sought painkillers from a doctor in Louisiana and returned to sledding at the upcoming championships. Partnering with pilot Elana Myers Taylor, they finished sixth after completing four runs.
Later, after the championships, Jones took it upon herself to get an MRI. The results revealed a herniated disc, another bulging disc, lacerations in her lower back, and a cerebrospinal fluid leak. Eventually, she required spinal surgery for these issues.
Paying for rehabilitation, transportation, and personal medical expenses as a result of her injury, Jones estimates the overall cost around $100,000. This financial burden highlighted a broader issue in Olympic sports.
Many bobsledders live on modest salaries while spending large amounts on training and travel. Although she earned money from outside jobs, Jones indicated that the expenses took a toll on her finances.
“I make a lot of money, but I don’t make Michael Phelps,” she stated.
Now, she advocates for better due process protections for Olympic athletes and argues that they need affordable means to challenge the governing bodies that control their medical care and funding. In her view, the current grievance system is too costly and leaves athletes with limited power.
This troubling experience has also changed how Jones views the Olympics. She once envisioned her daughter following in her athletic footsteps, but not anymore.
“I won’t let my daughter become an Olympian,” she declared. “She won’t be treated like that.”
After over 20 years of training for Team USA and representing the country in both Winter and Summer Games, Jones felt abandoned by the system when she finally had to seek help. “I’ve given a lot to Team USA and represented this country to the best of my ability,” she complained. “And when I wanted Team USA back, they completely abandoned me.”
