Dawn Harper Tired of Lolo Jones Fawning

Illinois native Dawn Harper says her silver-medal win got lost in Lolo Jones coverage

Dawn Harper wants a little more respect after winning silver Tuesday in the 100m hurdles.

Even after finishing second in a photo-finish race behind Australia's Sally Pearson, the East St. Louis, Ill., defending champion said the cameras didn't turn from media darling Lolo Jones.

Jones, seeking redemption after blowing her gold-medal run in 2008, came in fourth.

"I feel as if I had a pretty good story," Harper told NBC's Michelle Beadle the morning after the race. "Knee surgery two months before Olympic trials in 2008, to make the team by .007, not have a contract, working three jobs, living in a frat house, trying to make it work, coming off running in someone else's shoes ... it sounds pretty interesting."

Harper said she worked hard to represent the United States and felt shunned when the media spotlight never lifted from Jones.

"Because their favorite didn't win, all of a sudden, it was like, 'We're gonna kind of push your story aside and still push this one,'" she said. "That hurt. It did, it hurt my feelings."

American Kellie Wells, who finished third in the race, echoed those thoughts.

"I think on the podium tonight the three girls that are in their spot and got their medals and worked hard and did what they needed to do prevailed," Wells said. "And that's all that really needs to be said."

Jones told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday she was “heartbroken” by negative media coverage two days before the race. She tearfully responded Wednesday to a New York Times article that argued she had received more attention during the run-up to the London Olympic Games than her accomplishments had warranted.

“I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from a U.S. media [outlet],’’ Jones told NBC's Savannah Guthrie.

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