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U.S. track and field star Lolo Jones who officially punched her ticket to the London Olympics this summer, wants to make her mom proud of the champion she created. Lolo who is one of six children, was raised by a single mom in Iowa. At one point, the family was evicted from their home and 24 hours later, found themselves living in a church basement.

“I grew up quite poor but, I mean, as a kid you don’t realize you’re living in poverty. My mom was trying to do by any means necessary to make sure that we have what we needed. I definitely do not think I’d be going for this dream had I not seen her pick herself up so many times and keep fighting for us. I think that’s why I keep fighting.”

Jones who missed out on qualifying for the 2004 Athens Games vowed to never experience sitting on the couch watching the Olympics on TV and four years later not only did she make the U.S. team, she was the one of the fastest runners in the world.

“I’ve always used my failures as motivation. It was natural because I’ve seen my mom do it her whole life.”

I was crushed when I couldn’t get the medal,” says Jones. “I wanted to make my mom proud. Winning the medal, I would have been like ‘Hey Mom, this is for you. You created an Olympic champion with all your hard work.'”

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The Summer Olympics begins Friday, July 27, 2012, and ends Sunday, August 12, 2012.

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