By Keeler McJunkin
A two-time Olympian and 2015 world championships bronze medalist, Michelle Carter has excelled at the national level for over a decade.
Now, after making her third Olympic team with a final throw of 64 feet, 3 ¼ inches to take gold in the shot put final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Thursday at Hayward Field, Carter is ready to bring home her first Olympic medal.
“We were going back and forth out there,” Carter said. “Knowing my training is coming together and that I’m kinda where I’d like to be is great. My goal is to peak big in Rio and win gold.”
Carter moved from third to first on the final throw after many throwers traded places throughout the competition. Raven Saunders of Ole Miss (63-1 ½) and Felisha Johnson of Nike (63-1 ¼) will join Carter on the shot put team headed to Rio after finishing second and third, respectively.
Saunders, a sophomore for the Rebels, has looked up to Carter for years.
“She’s paved the way for a lot of us young girls out there,” Saunders said. “She’s been here years on end, and I’m happy to be on the team with her because there’s so much I can learn.”
Sitting in third place after fouling on her two previous attempts, Carter came through to post the top mark of the event on her final throw, the last of the entire competition.
“I gathered my thoughts and my energy,” Carter said. “I really focused and tried not to foul. I put everything I had into my last throw.”
A constant, heavy rain fell for the entirety of the final, weather Carter doesn’t like. She said it’s a mental thing for her because when she was younger she hated throwing in the rain. She had to tell herself to focus on her technique and not the rain.
Heading for her third Olympics, this one in Brazil, Carter knows what the pressure and atmosphere will be like in Rio after competing in Beijing and London.
“In Beijing I was just scared and so nervous,” Carter said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’ll never forget walking into the stadium and looking around. It was the biggest place I had ever been in. It was a little overwhelming, but it was a great experience.”
Carter has a chance to be the second person in her family to earn an Olympic shot put medal.
Carter’s father, Michael, who played nose guard for the San Francisco 49ers and won three Super Bowls, is the only athlete to ever win a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic medal in the same year. He won the silver medal in the shot put at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
“The San Francisco 49ers have his on display right now,” Carter said. “If I can return from Rio with a medal, it would be special to do something he was able to do.”
Michael has coached his daughter for her entire career. He’s around her every day, and has taught her everything he knows. Carter grew up with her dad playing football and he didn’t pressure her to be a shot putter.
“My coach in junior high asked me to be on the track team,” Carter said. “My daddy didn’t talk about being in the Olympics. I didn’t find out until I was in seventh grade. I didn’t know him as a great shot putter or football player. I was like, ‘That’s my dad.’”
Carter said her dad was excited after the competition and told her to not make him nervous like that again. Even though she knew she was on the team before the final throw, Carter said she wanted to get the win and not take the final lightly.
With her attention now turned to a third straight Olympic Games, Carter isn’t satisfied with just qualifying. She wants more.
“I’ve had one experience where I was really nervous and another where I just wanted to take in the Olympic moment,” Carter said. “This time I need to go to work. My goal for 2016 is to walk out with the gold medal.”
