Michelle Carter breaks American record to win shot put gold medal
By Steve Lansdale
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — If there’s someone who understands the history of the shot put, it’s former Texas star Michelle Carter. Her father, Michael, might be known best as the nose tackle who won three Super Bowls as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, but he also won a silver medal in the shot put at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and he still holds one of the longest-standing records in high school athletics: his record throw with the shot has gone unbeaten since 1979.
Michael Carter is in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and got to watch his daughter make some history of her own. With a heave of 20.68 meters (67 feet, 10 ¼ inches) in the sixth round of the event, Michelle Carter knocked off two-time defending Olympic champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand. In doing so, she became the first American woman ever to win a gold medal in the event in the Olympics, broke her own American record and became the first to earn an Olympic medal in the event since 1960.
"You can't even put into words the emotion sitting there with Michelle's dad, Michael, and she's winning the gold medal," Texas head coach Mario Sategna said. “I couldn't more happy for her and her dad, who was a silver medalist in '84. I think it goes to show she's a person who does it the right way. It was definitely a great day for the University of Texas and the Carter family."
