Lolo Jones couldn't quiet her detractors Wednesday.
The U.S. women's bobsled team of driver Jazmine Fenlator and brakewoman Jones finished 11th in the event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi after Wednesday's final two runs.
The team's combined time of 1 minute, 57.24 seconds was .51 seconds slower than their time after Tuesday's first two runs, which also placed them 11th.
Canada's Kallie Humphries and Heather Moyse rallied from 0.23 seconds down after Tuesday's first heats to win the gold medal in a four-run combined time of 3:50.61, one-tenth of a second faster than the U.S. team of Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams.
Meyers and Williams led after Tuesday's portion.
The U.S. also captured bronze when Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans finished in a combined time of 3:51.61, a full second behind Humphries and Moyse.
Fenlator and Jones finished in a time of 3:53.97, 3.36 seconds behind the Canadian gold medal winners and 2.26 seconds out of medal contention.
While comments from U.S. men's team member Chuck Berkeley on Twitter went viral on Tuesday, to which he further commented to CBS Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb about Jones' undeserving selection to the team, Jones, the popular U.S. track and field athlete, talked only of being excited for her teammates and the positive experience she had in her moonlighting event.
"What a glorious night for my teammates!" Jones posted on her Facebook page. "I watched history being made with Elana and Lauryn and I watched Jaimie and Aja both first time Olympians win Olympic medals! I've travelled with these girls. Roomed with them (everyone but Elana... She snores :p) And now I celebrate for them. USA!!!!!! To my driver and homie Jaz, I luv ya and you keep your head up. You fought for every inch of that ice and didn't back down when the odds were against ya... and I apologize for farting in the back of your bobsled all season. Katie E and kristi koplin you guys are amazing. I could not ask for better teammates. Thank you everyone for the Facebook posts I read them last night for encouragement to remind myself that there is a whole nation back home supporting us. USA!!"
It was not certain whether the "Katie E" to which she was referring was Katie Eberling, who criticized the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation for its selection process and whom Berkeley said would've had much better results than Jones in Sochi.
She told the Washington Post, "I thought it was amazing," she said. "Bobsled is just such a tough, weird sport. For track and field, I have to think about everything during the race. There's a part of this race where I just rely on faith and rely on my teammate... it's exciting for sure. I had a blast."
Jones added to the Post that she was unsure whether she would try out for the 2018 Winter Games in the bobsled but already received encouragement by Fenlator and Meyers, who recruiting Jones for the 2014 Olympics.
"Lolo has been a trooper the whole time," Meyers said, as the Post reported. "She recruited Lauryn. To be in that situation and to recruit such a powerful - such a strong athlete - and have the confidence to say, 'You know what, you're going to compete against me for a spot, but I'm going to introduce you to the sport anyways.' That speaks loads about Lolo's character.
"I think she doesn't get enough credit for how hard she works and how much she's dedicated to performing for team USA," Meyers continued, "because she truly is."
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
