NORCROSS, Ga. — Atlanta native Jasmine Jones is running on the biggest stage in the world. On Thursday she’ll leave it all on the track for the women’s 400m hurdles final in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It’s a dream she’s been chasing since she was a little girl.
From a young age, Jones could fill a room. As a child she filled auditoriums singing, acting and dancing. At 22 years old, Jasmine is now filling stadiums. On Tuesday, the Greater Atlanta Christian graduate finished second in her heat with a time of 53.83 seconds, qualifying for the finals.
Her journey to Paris started in Atlanta.
“She’s been running since she was like 8 years old. For her to make it to this moment is incredible,” said her older brother Jordan.
Jasmine is the youngest of three with a family who wasn’t staying home for this moment. Among the thousands of screaming fans in the crowd in Paris is her mom Joanna, her older brother and sister, Jordan and Jada, and her dad Henry who also coached Jasmine throughout her childhood.
“We grew up together, racing each other and to see how far she’s come we couldn’t be more proud,” said Jada.
It was at Great Atlanta Christian where Jasmine’s hard work on the track was recognized by college recruits. After helping the varsity girls' track and field team bring home state championships in 2017 and 2019, Jasmine was a top recruit, ultimately choosing the University of Southern California as her collegiate home.
In the final, Jasmine will go against the top athletes in the world including defending Olympic champion Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone who also set a world record of 50.65 seconds at the 2024 U.S Olympic trials. While the competition is tough, her family says Jasmine is capable of a win.
“One thing about Jasmine is she always rises to the occasion, and she will surprise people. Competition is stiff, Sydney is great, but I’m not going to count Jasmine out,” said Jordan. “Definitely not, we are so happy to be this far, that any accomplishment that we have, I’m just going to be screaming my head off,” said Jada continued.
The women's 400m hurdles final is on Thursday afternoon at 3:25 p.m. ET (9:25 p.m. local Paris time). A watch party that 11Alive will stream is taking place at Greater Atlanta Christian School.