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Jasmine Jones became an overnight hero to Americans craving patriotism as they watch the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
In an interview with Fox News Digital this week, the first-time Olympic bobsledder and Air Force service member expressed how proud she is to represent her country, military branch and family in Italy.
The show of patriotism garnered viral praise on social media by Americans starved for an Olympian to publicly take pride in the country this winter.
Jones said her journey to reach this point has been defined by overcoming adversity and a devotion to family.
Jones is a young mother who wants to set an honorable example for her daughter
Jones had her daughter, Jade, in 2021. They will celebrate her fifth birthday at the end of the month.
Today, as she prepares to compete in her first Olympics, she takes pride in “being able to be a mom and show my daughter exactly how to go through different obstacles and what it means to overcome them.”
Jones hopes her daughter will learn from the mom’s example of joining the Air Force to advance her athletic career.
“Being able to show her different ways of, you know, you can join the Air Force, you can have these different things as well as being an athlete, continuing, and it’s just more meaningful to say the least,” Jones said.
The daughter is currently being looked after by Jones’ mother back home in the U.S. while Jones competes in Italy.
“I’m glad to have my mom. She takes her in the winter time,” Jones said. “I’m thankful for my mom for taking her in and allowing her to be there in Pennsylvania.”
Jones wants to challenge the Germans
In Milan Cortina, Jones is extra motivated to take on the elite German team.
“The Germans are always definitely a competitor in our team sport. They’re definitely great athletes, they have the speed and everything, and I’m definitely excited to go toe-to-toe with them,” Jones said.
Team Germany is considered the most dominant force in international bobsledding. In 2024, they won 11 of 12 medals at the World Championships and secured 28 World Cup medals in early 2026, while the rest of the world combined only won two.
“I’m definitely here to go against the best athletes in the world and I consider myeslf one of the best athletes in the world, and I’m just really excited to go out there and do that comparison with them,” Jones added.
“It gives more of that fire within us.”
Jones had to overcome eight crashes in a single year, but it helped her define her role
In the 2024-25 season, Jones said she suffered eight crashes while competing and training for bobsled.
“At a specific track it was about five times,” Jones said.
“Whenever you do crash it takes a toll physically, it takes a toll mentally, and going through those crashes, I just really felt down on myself, because I knew I really wanted to do so much more, and trying to give my all, right from the start. So going through that I definitely wanted to re-think how I go about everything with my training.”
For Jones, the experience helped her define her goal of becoming a standout brakeman in the sport.
A bobsled brakeman is the rear athlete responsible for providing maximum acceleration during the initial push, riding in the back to maintain aerodynamics, and pulling the brake lever to stop the sled only after crossing the finish line. They are crucial for both the explosive start and safe deceleration.
“If I can make myself a standout brakeman, then I can get put into different positions of making sure that I’m not being brought down again, as well as being able to push my best,” she said.
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Jones credits her Air Force training for helping her reach her first Olympics
Jones barely missed out on qualifying for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. So, she joined the Air Force in April 2023, which allowed her to undergo a much more rigorous training routine, which she credits for her ability to qualify for this year’s games.
“I’m just thankful to be an airman,” she said. “Going into the WCAP program, that allowed me to truly have my offseason training, allowed me to get to this point.… Having that offseason training to be able to focus truly and put in the work. That transpired with this moment.”
Team USA fans can send Jones and fellow airman Kelly Curtis, who is also competing in Italy, a personalized letter through a program involving a partnership between Team USA and Sandboxx.
After giving birth to her daughter in 2021, she was looking for stability as a means to achieve her goal of reaching the Olympics. The Air Force gave her that path.
“I wanted to do something that gives me more stability. There was a time when I was working my civilian job and trying to train at the same time, and it just wasn’t enough. I know I wanted to dedicate my time toward bobsled,” Jones said.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is being resilient, and I feel like that plays a part, where, going into basic, and you’re waking up early. You’re following orders. You’re getting that discipline needed, and that goes into bobsled.… So, I feel like transitioning from basic training and having that discipline as well translates into just knowing exactly what I’m supposed to do.”
Jones follows a rigorous heavyweight training routine
Jones’ Air Force training includes ample power lifting.
“I’m very power-based, where I do a lot of squats, cleans and everything,” Jones said.
But the hardest workout she deals with, and still struggles with, is snatches.
A snatch workout consists of an advanced Olympic lifting movement where a barbell is lifted from the ground to overhead in one, fluid, continuous motion. It is a full-body, high-intensity exercise requiring explosive power, strength, speed and coordination.
“Snatches are something I battle with, personally,” Jones said. “Sometimes I struggle with that.”
In a sport like bobsled, maintaining a certain weight is essential. So it also manifests in her diet, but not to a Tom Brady-esque degree.
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“In our sport, we’re pretty strict on rules when it comes to weight guidelines,” Jones said. “In a two-women sled, both the pilot and the brakeman have to be a max 80 kilo[grams]. And throughout the season I make sure that I stay under 80 kilos.
“I still eat pretty clean, but I also don’t shy away from the sweet stuff. So having that balance definitely works out. I feel like when I focus too much on trying to eat clean is when I gain the most weight.”
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