Drake Relays' Lolo Jones headed to Hall of Fame

The Des Moines native will be enshrined later this month

Lolo Jones is returning to Des Moines for a special homecoming.

The three-time Olympic athlete will be inducted into the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame April 25 — steps from Drake Stadium’s Blue Oval where she earned fame and became a fan favorite.

Jones competed in the hurdles in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and transitioned to the 2014 Winter Olympics as a member of Team USA in the bobsled.

Fan favorite Lolo Jones will return to Des Moines this month as she’s inducted into the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame. (Photo courtesy of Drake Relays.)

The Drake Relays are coming up fast. They’ll be held at Drake Stadium April 24-27.

Jones starred at the Relays when she was a Des Moines Roosevelt High School runner. She went on to college stardom at Louisiana State, then international fame. But no matter how far she ventured from Iowa, she made frequent trips back to Drake to compete, holding a special place in Iowans’ hearts.

Lolo won four consecutive Drake Relays titles in the women’s invitational 100-meter hurdles from 2005 to 2008. Her 2008 time of 12.74 seconds set a meet record. She came back for runner-up honors in 2010 and 2011.

She led much of the Olympic 100 hurdles race in 2008 and finished seventh at the Beijing games. She returned for the London games in 2012, taking fourth.

Jones moved on to Winter Olympics fame in 2014. Using her speed, she became a bobsledder and competed at the Sochi games. Few athletes have had the chance to compete at both Summer and Winter Olympics.

"We are thrilled to welcome Lolo Jones back to Des Moines, the Drake Relays, and into such an esteemed club of elite athletes," Drake Relays director Blake Boldon said in a press release. "Lolo is a household name among not only thousands of proud Iowans, but fans around the globe. Her connection to this event and the people here is unmatched."

As a Des Moines Register sportswriter, I had a chance to cover Lolo during her Roosevelt days.