ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There are eight people with connections to Western New York who are taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and one of them is Jasmine Jones.
Here's what you need to know about the Buffalo-area Olympic athlete.
Birthplace: Atlanta
High school: Greater Atlanta Christian School
College: Southern California
Age: 22
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
Sport: Track and field
Profile: Jasmine Jones isn't from Buffalo, but her father is well known around these parts. Jones, the daughter former Buffalo Bills defensive back Henry Jones, qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 400-meter hurdles.
Jones finished third in the event, running a personal-best 52.77 seconds on June 30. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took first at 50.65 seconds — a new world record — and Anna Cockrell was second at 52.64 at the U.S. Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.
Given McLaughlin-Levrone's performance, Jones will be in a high-profile event.
Jones recently completed her fourth season at USC, where she competed in hurdles, sprints, and jumps. She ranks in the top seven all-time on the Trojans' all-time list in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles.
Henry Jones played in 144 games over 10 seasons with the Bills, from 1991 to 2000. An All-Pro safety in 1992, he had 18 interceptions, including four that were returned for touchdowns, during his Buffalo years. He forced seven fumbles, recovered another nine, and made 663 tackles in Buffalo.
Henry Jones, in a 2019 Q&A posted on the Bills' website, talked about the lessons that he learned from his career and how he applied them to as a high school coach to Jasmine.
"I am always telling the kids, 'Make the reps count. Don't count the reps,' that kind of stuff," he said. "How to get through injuries, how to fight through pain, how to know when you're injured or when it's just painful (is what I help them with). There are a lot of lessons from football or sports in general, that carry over to other sports for sure."
When to watch: The preliminary heats for the 400-meter hurdles will be on August 4.