When It's Not A Happy Ending

She had been homeless, in foster homes, decided to live in one city with a track rather than with her family, got a scholarship to college to train. She didn't make it to Athens due to injury, and then fought to make it to Bejing. She was the clear favorite. This was supposed to be the greatest 100 meters in her life.

And then Lolo Jones clipped the 9th hurdle, lost the lead, and then lost the race.

Crossing the finish line in 7th place, she fell to the track and stayed there, disbelieving. It was utterly painful to watch. Somehow, she managed to hold it together enough to be interviewed on the track, where she was classy enough to say "It's the hurdles. You have to get all ten and if you can't, you're not meant to be the champion. Today I was not meant to be the champion. Today is hard. Tomorrow will be harder. I just have to get myself back up." I can't even begin to imagine how hard that interview was for her.

And then she walked into the tunnel, leaned against the wall, and broke down sobbing. The camera's caught it, of course, and NBC lingered over the money shot - the heartbreak of what happens when the slightest thing goes wrong in a 13 second race.

There have been so many incredible success stories in the Olympics, and it's hard to feel sorry sometimes for athletes that pout when they get a silver or a bronze instead of gold. But nothing made me cry these games more than the sight of Jones standing against that wall, wondering what went wrong.

The Olympics are only once every four years. If you have a bad day, that's years of work gone in a moment. That's what makes them special, wonderful, and sometimes heartbreaking.