Lolo Jones fights back tears: Media 'ripped me to shreds'

theGRIO REPORT - Olympian Lolo Jones appeared on NBC's Today show Wednesday, after finishing fourth in Tuesday's 100m hurdle finals...

Olympian Lolo Jones appeared on NBC’s Today show Wednesday, after finishing fourth in Tuesday’s 100m hurdle finals. Jones, who missed out on Olympic gold in the hurdles at the Beijing Games, tweeted her disappointment late Tuesday night:

Jones fought back tears speaking to Today anchor Savannah Guthrie about a New York Times story which slammed the hurdler for relying too much on her public image and not focusing enough on winning races. Jones said she was devastated when the story appeared two days before her big race.

“I worked six days a week every day for four years for a 12 second race,” Jones tearfully shared. “And the fact [the New York Times] just tore me apart…it was just heartbreaking.”

The story, which drew considerable ire on countless sports blogs, criticized the amount of publicity Jones received, despite not having won an Olympic medal.

“I just really hope that my story will give somebody hope,” Jones said. “Yea, I didn’t walk away with the medal or run away with the medal…but like, I think there’s lessons to be learned when you win and there’s lessons to be learned when you lose.”

Americans Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells took home the silver and bronze medals.

Click here to read the full story on TODAY.com

Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj

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