For Olympic Hurdler Jasmine Jones, Being An Athlete Was Always A Family Affair

Long before she ever stepped onto the Olympic track, Jasmine Jones imagined what it would feel like to compete on the world’s biggest stage — the crowd, the pressure, and the chance to compete against the fastest athletes on the planet. “I remember watching the 2012 Olympics on the TV in my grandparents’ house and I remember thinking, yeah, I want to be there one day,” Jones tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. Twelve years later, that dream came true when Jones made her Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games, running the 400-meter hurdles and coming in fourth in the world.

To say it was in Jones’s blood would be an understatement. Jones’ father, Henry Jones, is a former NFL safety for the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, and the Atlanta Falcons. Her mother, Joanna Cox Jones, was a collegiate sprinter and holds high school track records to this day. It was a family affair from the start — after Jones and her older sister took an interest in track, Joanna connected them with the top track club coach in their hometown of Atlanta, while Henry fully embraced coaching at home. “My dad studied everything he could to try to coach us, because he really saw our potential,” Jones says. “He learned everything as we got more in depth into the sport.”

When she saw her older sister, Jada, take up the 100-meter hurdles, she too wanted to give hurdles a try — they’d always had the classic sibling rivalry, only intensified by their competitive spirits. “Seeing her get praised all the time, I always kind of had it in the back of my mind, like, ‘OK, well, I can do that too. I want to be that fast, too,’” Jones says. “That definitely gave me a nice goalpost to reach for, and then eventually, try to surpass.” By the time Jones reached middle school, “hurdles kind of became my jam.”

Throughout high school, Jones dominated in her national age group ranks. She was named Georgia’s female track and field athlete of the year in 2019, simultaneously racking up gold medals at the 2019 USATF U20 Championships and Pan American U20 Championships. Then came her NCAA success while running at the University of Southern California, claiming a 4×100-meter relay title, runner-up finishes in the 100-meter hurdles, and a 400-meter hurdles championship. 

It was during her time at USC that Jones realized her Olympic dream may actually be within reach. Surrounded by a strong track community, she had the chance to train with Olympians and learn from highly decorated coaches — many of which became her friends and support system. “It was really cool to see that being an Olympian was attainable and achievable, and something that you can really work towards, especially [since] people that I know and look up to have done it,” Jones says. “Just being in an environment of greatness really made that dream feel like a reality.” 

Kevin Morris for Global Athletics

Before she knew it, Jones had qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she set a personal best and U.S. collegiate record while finishing fourth overall in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. She didn’t let missing the podium discourage her, though. “Having Olympics success early on can make the rest of the career difficult to try to surpass what’s already been done,” Jones says. “Not getting a medal that first year was probably actually really good for me.”

With the momentum of the Olympics behind her, Jones shifted her sights to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, where she won silver and cemented her status as one of the world’s elite hurdlers — and yet still, she’s motivated for more. “There’s always the gold, so I’m definitely still going for the gold, and I think that that’s a good goal to have,” Jones says. 

As Jones found success on the track, she also found it in academics. Jones graduated in the spring of 2024 from the University of Southern California, with a biology degree and a minor in musical theater — one of Jones’ hobbies that keeps her grounded in the high-pressure track lifestyle. “I have two huge dreams in two hugely different spheres, so finding the balance of that has been something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, trying to figure out where I want to plug into that and how that can fit into my current career,” Jones says. “I’m only 23, so I feel like there’s time to grow in musical theater while having my track career. And when one career is kind of on its end, I think I can transition over to more of my artsy career.”

It’s hobbies like musical theater, reading fantasy novels, and finding a new spot for the best midday matcha that keep Jones grounded amidst her intense training schedule. She emphasizes the importance of remembering why she runs, but not letting it become not her entire identity. “It’s something that you do, but it’s not who you are at the end of the day,” she says. “You have people around you who can bring you back onto Earth and let you know that your success or failure does not define you as a person, and that your value is not based on the ups and downs on the track.”

One person Jones looks to when she needs some grounding? Her sister, Jada. “My sister is my best friend,” Jones says. “She’s two years older than me, so she’s gotten to try everything first, but then I do it better, because I got to see her mistakes and learn from them. She was a hurdler first, and I did hurdles mostly because I wanted to be like her, so I honestly credit her for my being a hurdler at this point.” Now, the sisters live together in Los Angeles with their two newly adopted kittens. “Now that we’re both graduated, it’s been really fun getting to be friends again as adults, and seeing how each of our careers are playing out.”

Jones certainly isn’t slowing down any time soon — in fact, she’s just getting started. “Having the experience now of being at the highest level on a world stage and being successful there gives me a little bit of confidence,” she says. “I’ve done this before, and I can do it again.”