Olympic hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones competed at the 2025 IBSF World Championships with a broken back after Team USA's medical staff denied her follow-up treatment, according to a new investigative report.
The 42-year-old, one of only a handful of athletes to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, suffered the injury while testing a new bobsled ahead of the championships in Lake Placid. Symptoms reportedly included severe lower-back pain, numbness, foot drop, and loss of bladder control - signs that, according to the report, are consistent with a serious spinal emergency.
Jones sought further care at the Olympic Training Center but says she was told she had reached her allotted therapy sessions for the week. USOPC documents cited in earlier reporting indicate the exchange grew heated, resulting in a four-month ban from Olympic training facilities for a code-of-conduct violation.
Despite the injury going undiagnosed, Jones went on to compete in the two-woman bobsled event, pushing a roughly 400-pound sled and enduring repeated high-speed runs. Because the next Winter Olympics fall outside her competitive window, the World Championships may have marked her final shot at added Olympic hardware.
Jones, a three-time Olympian in track and field and two-time Winter Olympian in bobsled, has spoken openly throughout her career about her Christian faith and how it has carried her through injury, setback, and public criticism. She has not commented further on this report beyond her original social media posts from last year addressing her treatment by the USOPC.
