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Olympic athletes were roaming the marshy plains of south Lafourche Parish this weekend.
World renowned American sprinter Lolo Jones and paralympic athlete Mark LeBlanc were at the Larose Civic Center this weekend for the Family Fun Festival.
The duo signed hundreds of free autographs for those enjoying Saturday afternoon’s bright blue skies and perfect temperatures.
Jones and LeBlanc attended the event in conjunction with BP.
When asked, they both said giving autographs is no chore when surrounded by south Louisiana hospitality.
“I’m just here enjoying a nice day and some amazing food,” Jones said with a laugh. “It’s been a beautiful day and we’re meeting some really awesome people.”
“BP gave me a call and asked me to come to the Family Fun Festival,” LeBlanc said. “I had been to Larose before, because I used to work in Houma. I knew when they told me it was going to be here that the food would be amazing. I wasn’t wrong about that. … It’s been a great day. I’m happy to be here.”
Jones’ stop in Larose came in the middle of a highly publicized career change for the former LSU superstar.
Jones is currently in the midst of transforming from a short-distance hurdler to a bobsledder – just in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
If that transformation sounds random to some, have no worries. Jones laughed and said it was out of the blue for her, too.
“I watched a lot of Cool Runnings,” Jones said with a laugh when asked how she decided to become a bobsledder. “Nah, it was actually a lot of things. I went to a fundraiser a few years back and I met a bobsledder and she said I would be really good. She said I would be a natural fit for the team, so I just sort of put it in the back of my mind.”
Jones said she didn’t think too much of the offer at the time because she was entrenched in her preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
But after finishing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and missing the medal stand, Jones said she felt compelled to take the challenge because she was “too hungry” to wait four more years for Olympic glory.
“In the Olympics, everyone measures your success by whether or not you got a medal,” Jones said. “Obviously, I still want a medal. That’s why I’ve decided to try out for this new sport. Not getting that medal is tough, and it hurts. But it’s not something that deterred me. It’s actually motivated me more. So now, I go to the Winter Olympics trying to get this medal.”
Jones said the skill sets required for sprinting and bobsledding are similar – a lot of the members of the team are converted track athletes.
She said the first time she was on the sled and accelerated close to 100 mph, she had a “what the heck am I doing here?” moment.
But since working the kinks out, Jones has proven to be a natural.
She and the Americans won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in the mixed team competition.
The Americans are among the favorites in the field in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
“I think it’s really cool that even though one door has closed for me temporarily, I sort of found a window to go through,” Jones said.
When asked to explain the ins and outs of the American team, Jones said Louisiana should prepare for a winter storm of bobsledding publicity.
“You will know us soon – everyone in Louisiana will,” Jones said with a laugh. “This team is great. We are filled with a lot of athletes who tried to be successful in other sports, but came up short. … That’s what I love about our American bobsledding team. We’re just made up of a lot of rough athletes who’ve been told no and who have had doors shut in their faces for their entire lives. But collectively, they’ve all said, ‘Look, I’m not going to let a stop sign or a roadblock get in my way.’ That mentality and that fire is what I absolutely love about my team.”
Overcoming adversity and roadblocks is the only way that LeBlanc knows how to live.
A New Orleans native, LeBlanc was born with one hand – his left arm extends only to his elbow.
But with a twin brother and parents unwilling to accept an abnormal life for their son, LeBlanc said he lived a normal childhood life.
“My parents decided very early on that they weren’t going to treat me and my brother differently,” LeBlanc said. “We were one in the same. I played baseball, soccer, football – you name it. I wrestled in high school. I did everything and anything possible – just like everyone else.”
But LeBlanc’s claim to fame has been paved through sailing.
He said he picked up the sport, “because it was something to do” – a common hobby that he shared with his father and great grandfather.
“I wasn’t especially successful – I just did OK,” LeBlanc said. “I had a lot of fun. It was more about the camaraderie than the competitiveness.”
After Hurricane Katrina, LeBlanc said New Orleans lost almost all of its boats. Hungry to get back on the water, LeBlanc said he bought a boat online.
“I figured I’d just try it,” LeBlanc said. “I had no concept of the Paralympics or anything like that.”
After taking out his boat for the first time in 2006 and finishing 8th out of 16 racers, LeBlanc said things snowballed forward for him.
He and his family launched a Paralympics campaign to help fund his travels for future races.
Since then, he has traveled the globe for races and has established himself as one of the best Paralympics sailors in the world.
He competed for Team USA in the 2012 Paralympics Games.
“It’s just been a whirlwind tour for me,” LeBlanc said. “I get to go places all over the world to sail and to compete. I have friends from everywhere in the world. It’s amazing.”
LeBlanc said one of the best parts about his sailing is that he gets to inspire others with the same handicap.
The Louisianan said he never realized how large an impact he’d have on others when he first started touring in competitions.
The feedback he’s received has been “unbelievable.”
“That’s one of those things that you don’t set out to do – like I didn’t ever get involved in this to necessarily inspire other people,” LeBlanc said. “But you do it and you learn right away that other people are really moved by what you do. I know I grew up watching Jim Abbott pitch in the Major Leagues with just one arm. That inspired me. It’s neat to think I’m maybe doing the same thing for someone else.”
In between sharing their personal stories, Jones and LeBlanc enjoyed the company of many new friends at the Family Fun Festival.
Each athlete made small talk with the attendees seeking autographs – pausing to smile for pictures for anyone with a cell phone in hand.
Jones said she asked a small boy if she could call herself a Cajun – despite being from Iowa.
“He looked at me and said, ‘I’m not sure,’” Jones said with a laugh. “I’m getting closer to being able to claim Cajun, but I guess I’m not quite there yet.”
Olympian Lolo Jones signs an autograph for a fan at the Family Fun Fest in Larose. Jones and paralympic athlete Mark LeBlanc attended the festival this weekend, touting the hospitality of the people of south Lafourche during their three-hour stay.
