Olympian Lolo Jones refuses to be pressured into retiring from professional sports before she’s ready to step down. Jones, 41, posted a video of herself wearing shorts and a tank top, dancing in her kitchen. “Retirement for an athlete is a very personal thing. And it’s not as linear as people think. Jordan retired twice so did Tom Brady. There can be a gray area. So I’m on here to say I will retire when I want to. Not because it’s uncomfortable for people to see a 41 year old pro female athlete. I’m not retiring this year. For all those that sent me positive messages and helped me break history thank you 🙏🏽,” she captioned the post. Here’s how the athlete is still on top of her game in her 40s.
Journaling helps Jones work through her emotions. “I’m big on journaling,” she told SELF. “There have been so many moments in my life where I just wanted to scream because I’ve been so angry, and just being able to journal and let it all out and let my raw emotions [out]—where tears are just dripping on the pages—has been really therapeutic and has given me hindsight to look back and see what I’ve overcome.”
Jones froze her eggs in hopes of having children one day. “Being a good mom is very difficult, especially in today’s society,” she told Good Morning America. “And so, it has me nervous. Like, do I have the capabilities, the skill set to care for someone? But I’d like a chance… You keep having hope that you’re gonna meet someone and then every year that goes by, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m not, like, meeting my husband,’ like, you start to get more anxious.”
Jones is constantly inspired by movies and music. “We forget how impactful movies can be, but I can think about how Cool Runnings inspired me to be a bobsledder, and that’s just a funny little silly Disney movie,” she told SELF. “Movies are powerful. I even listened to a Lady Gaga song the other day that was super inspirational: ‘Million Reasons.’ You can get your inspiration from anywhere. Even [small] things help get the ball rolling because momentum builds momentum.”
Jones is not willing to wait for the perfect relationship in order to have kids. “This is the thing about egg freezing that people should know: It is not a guarantee to have a kid,” she told Good Morning America. “Trust me, I’ve been on some amazing dates, it just … has not worked out. But if the right person is for me, they will be willing to stick through it all. I want a guy who’s gonna love me through it all.”
Jones knows how important support and friendship is. “Right after I lost the 2008 Olympics, I went back to the [Olympic] Village and I just kept crying,” she told SELF. “I was almost going to stay in my bed and keep crying the whole night, but instead, I got out and hung out with another friend and teammate, and it helped my mood shift completely. It doesn’t have to be this dramatic thing. It can just be surrounding yourself with friends. You can have a complete attitude shift.”