The Gospel Herald has scored an exclusive interview with American athlete Lolo Jones, who is famously outspoken about her Christian faith.
In a video interview conducted by Gospel Herald reporter Darrel Johnson, Jones candidly talked about the issues she faced after competing at a Diamond League race in New York. She quipped that it was a "nightmare" getting injured during the track and field event.
"I'm just really happy to be running," Jones said. "It's crazy. Once you get one blessing, you start to look ahead ... I'm just grateful to be where I'm at right now, that I'm actually able to run."
Johnson highlighted the fact that she was a committed Christian. He asked her what advice she would give to people who faced similar challenges; in her case, she is currently dealing with a sports injury.
"The timing of your question couldn't be more precise," Jones said. "I'm struggling right now. That injury really set me back. It's hurt my confidence. It has me not where I want to be at."
Jones added that she had to rely on her faith to get through the difficult times.
"I had to constantly remind myself, 'When I am weak, He is strong,'" Jones said about her relationship with Jesus. "I'm really telling myself, 'I can't do this in my own strength.' Even the Word says it's not by your strength, it's by God."
Jones emphasized that it was all up to God as to what happens during her athletic career.
"If He chooses to bless me, He gets all the glory," Jones said. "That's what I'm really trying to rely on right now. I literally have nothing else. I'm in such a bad position right now from the injuries that literally I'm in a position where God gets all the glory."
Jones then included some advice based on her current situation.
"When you're going through something tough, you ought to be like, 'Oh OK, this is terrible, this is not what I wanted it to be,'" Jones said. "But when I come out of this, people are going to know and see how God worked in me. I am a living testimony. He gets all the glory."
Johnson seemed moved by her response. He then asked her what was going on with her current sponsor, energy drink maker Red Bull; Jones thought she felt "blessed" by having the company with her.
"I'm doing nothing with it other than just drinking it," Jones said with a laugh. "They're a great company to be sponsored by. They [place] an emphasis on athletic performance. They work with athletes off the track and help me with my nutrition. They really care."
Jones elaborated on how the sponsor expanded her social circle.
"They have really cool events that they do," Jones said. "I've met so many athletes that I would never meet in a million years, like skateboarders [and] snowboarders. I see track people, but never those athletes, so it's pretty cool."
In his final question, Johnson asked Jones about which athletes she is excited to see perform in their sport.
"I would say the men's sprinters, but they annoy me so much because they don't ever race against each other," Jones said. "If they raced more, they could really help our sport out."
Jones added that she enjoyed watching "the men's 110m hurdlers" and other athletics events.
"That's an event where they will line up. They don't care," Jones said. "[As for] women's, sprints will duke it out, even more so than men's."
Jones thought the 800m sprint was worth watching.
"The 800m is a crazy event to watch," Jones said. "That's because they come in so fast on that first lap. I wonder how they have the energy to come around again. I know I'd be done [after that]."
