Summer and Winter Olympian Lolo Jones has lashed out at USA Bobsled as well as the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) over allegations of negligence after she was allegedly denied medical treatment for a severe spinal injury in the wake of a crash.
The 43-year-old former track star now claims the USOPC’s failure to provide proper medical care could have left her ‘paralyzed.’
According to Zielhaus, which reports on bobsled and skeleton, Jones was injured while testing a new sled and racing position ahead of the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. Since then, she has battled ‘brutal lower-back pain, numbness, leg instability, foot drop,’ and ‘loss of bladder control,’ according to a highlighted section of the article Jones shared on X.
‘Why I’ve been off social for so long…For months, I couldn’t talk about this,’ Jones wrote on X earlier this week, while sharing an article from the Zielhaus Substack page. ‘Please someone help stop what they are doing at USA Bobsled.’
But instead of getting treatment, Jones says she was denied care, ranging from testing to a simple massage. According to Zielhaus, she was only allowed one massage per week and had already received one days earlier.
‘I was never even given an X-ray or an MRI,’ she wrote on X. ‘I wasn’t even allowed to use the ice bath to numb the pain.
Summer and Winter Olympian Lolo Jones has lashed out at USA Bobsled as well as the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) over allegations of negligence
Elena Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones compete during the two-woman Bobsleigh heat 2 on day five of the 2025 IBSF World Championships on March 14, 2025. Jones was racing injured
‘The worst part? USA Bobsled and the USOPC put me back in a bobsled without ever ordering an MRI or properly evaluating my injury, risking permanent paralysis.’
Jones would go on to compete in the 2025 World Championships, where she and pilot Meyers Taylor finished sixth. It was only after that event that she learned the extent of her injuries, and she now believes she risked serious health issues by competing in Lake Placid.
‘I did not even know my spine was seriously injured,’ she continued. ‘I just knew I was in pain That’s why I got back in a Bobsled.
‘Had my pilot hit a wall,’ she concluded, ‘I would be paralyzed today.’
And the pushback didn’t stop there.
The USOPC banned her from the Olympic Training Committee after a reported argument with an official, thereby denying her access to training and medical resources. According to Julie Marra, director of the USOPC Training Center in Lake Placid, Jones violated the OPTC Code of Conduct, although she stopped short of giving specifics.
Since then, according to Zielhaus, Jones has spent $100,000 of her own money on training and treatment, including the MRI that revealed a herniated disc, tears in three vertebrae, and leaking spinal fluid, not to mention her subsequent surgery.
Jones has been staying active during her suspension by pushing a Honda rather than a sled
Lolo Jones runs at the 2007 Norwich Union International Athletics meet in Glasgow
The USOPC has admitted wrongfully denying Jones medical carer, Zielhaus reported. The Daily Mail has sought further comment from USOPC spokespeople.
Jones’ ban has continued, although the Southern California News Group has reported that a partial reinstatement was offered on July 3.
These days, Jones is training by pushing a Honda because she no longer has access to bobsled training facilities.
A member of the Team USA bobsled squad at the 2014 Winter Olympics, she previously ran track at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games.
She remains one of just 11 athletes to compete for Team USA in multiple sports.
