Michelle Carter (athlete)
|
Carter at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
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 |
| Coached by | Michael Carter |
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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]
She won the silver medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships and the gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships. She finished fifteenth at the 2008 Olympic Games and fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games.[5]
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 National Championship in 2006.
Carter is a graduate of Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Texas. 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
- 1 2 "Michelle Carter". teamusa.org. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ↑ "Shot Diva: Meet Michelle". shotdiva.com.
- ↑ Associated Press (August 12, 2016). "Michelle Carter wins gold for U.S. in women's shot put". Chicago Tribune. Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ Rubinroit, Seth. "Michelle Carter wins women's shot put gold medal". NBCOlympics.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- ↑ "Shot Put Women: The XXX Olympic Games". IAAF. International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ "USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions: Women's Shot Put". USA Track & Field. USA Track & Field, Inc. 2001–2012. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ shotdiva.com
- ↑ http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/you-throw-girl-an-olympic-shot-putters-feminist-mission
External links
- Michelle Carter profile at IAAF
- sports-reference
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