Lorena (LoLo) Menghia was born in Iasi, Romania on June 12, 1988. When she was 10 years old, she was persuaded by her older sister, Catrinel Menghia (who was also doing track and field at that time) to follow her footsteps and start training for track. Soon after that, LoLo won her first national title in the pentathlon and scored a new national record in the same event. LoLo continued to train for the pentathlon until age 14, when she started training with coach Ghilase Marius. Soon after, he and Menghia chose to concentrate on the event that was her best, high jump.