Lolo Jones celebrates as she crosses the finish line in the women's 60m hurdles (© Getty Images)
2008 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones has today confirmed she will compete in the 60m Hurdles at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow on 31 January.
The 26-year-old American has her eyes on the World Championships in August hoping to make up for her Olympic heartbreak. She will also be keen to better her previous two outings in Glasgow, where she has finished second on both occasions.
2008 had been a great year for Jones right up to the Olympic final. She qualified strongly in the US Trials and also set a personal best in the Beijing semi-final (12.43) of the 100m Hurles, however in the final the American was cruelly robbed of a gold medal. Leading the race, she clipped the penultimate hurdle causing her to stumble and ultimately finish in seventh place.
Earlier in the year she had won the World indoor title in Valencia, an event she where was second favourite for until the World indoor record holder Susanna Kallur of Sweden suffered injury.
Jones has an indoor best of 7.77 seconds which places her tenth on the all-time list and within striking distance of Kallur's 7.68 World record.
“These meetings are all about giving our best British athletes the chance to compete against the best in the world and – despite her huge disappointment in Beijing – it is clear that Lolo Jones was the best female high hurdler over the course of last season," said Niels de Vos, Chief Executive of UK Athletics. "Whoever lines up against her in Glasgow and Birmingham will get a perfect illustration of the level they need to be aiming for.”
The format of the Aviva International Match sees elite athletes – more accustomed to competing for individual glory – having to earn points for their country. Teams competing at the Aviva International Match are Great Britain and Northern Ireland, USA, Germany, Sweden and a Commonwealth Select team.
The country versus country format guarantees an exciting event to entertain the crowd at Kelvin Hall. 2008 witnessed a terrific climax with Great Britain and Northern Ireland winning the final event to take the match by one point.
Jones will also be competing in the 60m hurdles at the Aviva Grand Prix three weeks later at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.
Abigail Thomas for the IAAF