Two-sport Olympian Lolo Jones has publicly criticized USA Bobsled and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, accusing the organizations of negligence after she says she was refused medical care for a serious spinal injury following a crash.
Jones, the 43-year-old former track standout who later competed in bobsled, alleged that the USOPC’s handling of the situation put her at risk of being left “paralyzed.”
According to Zielhaus, a publication covering bobsled and skeleton, Jones suffered the injury while testing a new sled and racing position before the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. In a highlighted portion of the article that Jones shared on X, she was described as dealing with “brutal lower-back pain, numbness, leg instability, foot drop,” and “loss of bladder control.”
“Why I’ve been off social for so long…For months, I couldn’t talk about this,” Jones wrote on X earlier this week as she posted the Zielhaus Substack article. “Please someone help stop what they are doing at USA Bobsled.”
Jones claims that, rather than receiving the medical attention she needed, she was denied even basic forms of care, including diagnostic testing and a massage. Zielhaus reported that she was permitted only one massage per week and had already used her allotted session days earlier.
“I was never even given an X-ray or an MRI,” Jones wrote on X. “I wasn’t even allowed to use the ice bath to numb the pain.
Lolo Jones, an Olympian in both summer and winter sports, has accused USA Bobsled and the USOPC of negligence
Elena Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones race in heat two of the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2025 IBSF World Championships on March 14, 2025, when Jones was competing while 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.
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‘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.
