All eyes were fixed on an Olympic track-and-field athlete-turned bobsled brakewoman trying to medal in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
Turns out the attention was on the wrong Summer Olympian-turned Winter Olympian.
While the ever-popular Lolo Jones finished 11th with Jazmine Fenlator after Tuesday's first two heats of the Olympic women's bobsled competition in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, it was Laura Williams, who teamed with top U.S. driver Elana Meyers to grab the lead halfway through the event, according to USA TODAY Sports.
Meyers and Williams finished with a two-heat time of 1 minute, 54.89 seconds, .23 seconds faster than Canada's Kallie Humphries and Heather Moyse. USA's No. 2 team of Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans are third, .56 second behind their countrywomen.
The 30-year-old Williams is a two-time Olympic medalist, capturing gold in the women's 4x100 meter relay in the 2012 London Olympics and a silver in the women's 100 meters in the 2004 Athens Games.
"I didn't come here for fame, for glory, to get rich or anything like that," she said. "I've thoroughly just been enjoying the ride. I showed up, and I said I wanted to help these girls."
Williams' story seemingly is in stark contrast to that of Jones, who is seeking her first Olympic medal and has persevered through controversy along her Olympic career - the bobsled competition being no different.
She was selected ahead of veteran brakewomen Katie Eberling and Emily Azevedo, both of whom suggested that Jones got the final push athlete spot based solely on her marketability.
She got another reminder of that Tuesday when U.S. men's bobsled team member Chuck Berkeley, who did not qualify for the Sochi Games, ripped Jones' selection after the first two races, according to USA TODAY Sports, For the Win.
From @Chuck Berkeley: "Absolutely no doubt that @KatieEberling would have done better for USA3. Hope the marketing dollars were worth it. #merit #Olympics2014".
Fenlator blamed herself for the first run, even though it was faster than the team's second run, another USA TODAY Sports article reported.
Jones' comments after the races only were in support of her U.S. teammates.
"I'm happy where my teammates are at," Jones said, according to USA TODAY Sports. "We're here, we're Team USA. We'll wolfpack it. We're definitely willing to support in all aspects."
She added that she thought Fenlator was capable of producing a brilliant run during the final day of competition.
"I want to help Jaz execute. I hope she shows the world what a beautiful driver she is," Jones said. "She has these moments during the season where she does just one of the most amazing runs ever. I think she's going to show you that (Wednesday)."
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