Lolo Jones: 5 Things To Know About The Virgin Olympian

Interest in hurdler Lolo Jones, aka Lori Jones, has gone far beyond her track and field skills since she first tweeted that she was a virgin and later said on HBO's Real Sports show that she was in search of a husband.

During the Real Sports interview that aired on Tuesday, the 29-year-old Olympic hopeful said she wanted to keep her virginity as a gift for her husband.

But please don't misunderstand: This journey has been really hard. Harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, Jones said.

Jones said men have tried every trick in the book to get her into bed. One man even told her that sex would help her run faster. I've been tempted, but I joked with these guys and said, 'If you marry me, then yeah.'

According to Jones, the reason she has had so many woes in her dating life is due to her dedication to keeping her chastity. She explained that after she reveals that she is a virgin, it sends men sprinting out the door.

While men have been running away from her, Twitter fans appear only to be getting closer, with a 40 percent increase in followers since Jones revealed she was a virgin, according to Mashable.

Jones has taken the attention given her personal life with good humor, but Jezebel's Madeline Davies has criticized the media for focusing on the athlete's sex life.

Why are people harassing Jones, an incredible Olympic athlete, about her sex life to begin with? This old-school mentality that a woman's sexuality is inherently intertwined with all of her accomplishments is tired ... Worst still, it's a lose-lose. Had Jones had several sexual partners, 'GMA' and the Today show would still be drooling and gnashing their teeth over her, ignoring the main point: She, a woman who can run the 100m in less than 12 seconds, is headed to the Olympics in London where she is projected to win, Davies wrote.

5 Things To Know About Lolo Jones

Personal-Best Records:

100-meter hurdles: 12.43 seconds (outdoors)

100-meter dash: 11.24 seconds (outdoors)

60-meter hurdles: 7.72 seconds (indoors)

Troubled Past: Growing up, Jones attended eight schools in eight years, while her single mother held various jobs to make ends meet. Her father spent most of her childhood in either the U.S. Air Force or prison.

Seminude ESPN Magazine Spread: Jones may be a virgin, but she's not shy: She posed seminaked for ESPN Magazine's Body Issue in 2009.

Online Dating: In the Real Sports interview on HBO, Jones revealed that she has tried dating online, but didn't get anywhere.

Tim Tebow Love Interest? After Jones joined Tim Tebow as two of the highest-profile virgins in sports, some of Tebow's New York Jets teammates apparently had a bit of fun by linking the chaste couple. New York Daily News reporter Kevin Armstrong tweeted, For the track/Lolo Jones junkies: When Tebow entered locker room today, several Jets players started chanting, 'Lolo! Lolo!' And Jones tweeted back, RT @lolojones: Hello by Lionel Richie now on repeat on my ipod RT @KevinGArmstrong Tebow entered locker room today, Jets chant 'Lolo! Lolo!'