Michelle Carter (athlete)

Michelle Carter

Carter at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul
Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(1985-10-12) October 12, 1985 San Jose, California, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Weight	260 lb (118 kg)[2]
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Shot Put
College team	Texas Longhorns
Coached by	Michael Carter
Medal record Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put World Championships 2015 Beijing Shot put 2017 London Shot put World Indoor Championships 2016 Portland Shot put 2012 Istanbul Shot put Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara Shot put

Michelle Denee Carter (born October 12, 1985) is an American shot putter, and the current Olympic women's champion. She is the current American record holder in the event with a distance of 20.63 m (67 ft 8 in) set at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Career

Carter won the 2016 gold medal at the Rio Olympics on the last of her six throws, edging two-time defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand.^[3] In doing so, Carter became the first United States women's athlete to win the event since the women's competition began at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, and only the second American to win any medal (Earlene Brown, bronze medal, 1960).^[4]

Carter broke her own American Record with the Olympic Gold Medal-winning toss of 20.63 meters or 67' 8 1/4".

She finished fifteenth at the 2008 Olympic Games and fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games.^[5]

A Bronze Medalist at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships, Carter also won the Gold Medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships after winning the Bronze Medal in 2012.

She won the Silver Medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships and the Gold Medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships.

In addition to winning the 2008 United States Olympic Team Trials, she was the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 National Champion.^[6] While competing for the University of Texas, she won the Collegiate NCAA National Championship in 2006.

Carter is a graduate of Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Texas where she was a four time State Champion in the Shot Put. Her father, Michael Carter, is also a former Olympian and NFL star — the only athlete to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same year. Both Michelle and her father hold the current National High School Record in the shot put, the only such father-and-daughter situation. Michelle set her record in 2003 while winning the Texas state championship; her father's record has been unchallenged since 1979.

Personal life

Carter's father, Michael, won the men’s shot put silver medal while representing Team USA at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and also played professional American football for the San Francisco 49ers from 1984-1992, winning three Super Bowls.^[1]

She received a full track scholarship to The University of Texas, she graduated in 2007 with a degree in Youth and Communities Studies, and a minor in Kinesiology.

Carter is a certified professional make-up artist; information about her work is available on shotdiva.com.^[7]

Carter has focused on body image both on the field and off, talking to young women about confidence through her program You Throw Girl. “You have to understand everyone’s body was built to do something. I was built to do something, and that’s how I was built. I think the world is realizing we were promoting one body type and there have always been many.”^[8]

References

External links

• Michelle Carter profile at IAAF
• "Michelle Carter". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.