Olympic gold medalist and the most successful female shot putter in American history,
Michelle Carter has etched her place in the history books. At Red Oak High School, she won
eight-shot put state championships, four indoor and four outdoor respectively. Aside from her
stellar high school accomplishments, she placed second at the World Youth Championships
in 2001 and first at the World Junior Championships in 2004. In 2003, she not only won gold
at the Junior Pan American Games but set the National High School Girls record with a
distance of 54 feet and 10 inches.
She earned a full track scholarship to the University of Texas in 2003 and went on to
become a seven-time All-American and won five Big 12 Conference titles. In 2005, she
placed second in the National Collegiate Athletic Association outdoor championship and
helped the Longhorns win the NCAA team title. She won the NCAA indoor championship and
helped the women's team claim another NCAA team title the following year in 2006. Her
senior year she received a second-place finish in the NCAA indoor championships. Carter is
one of the most successful tracks and field athletes in the University’s history.
After having one of the most successful careers at the University of Texas, she continued
that legacy in her professional career. Over her career, she accumulated seven USA Outdoor
Track and Field Championships, five USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and one
Olympic gold medal to name a few. In 2008, she placed first in the USA Outdoor Track and
Field Championships. That same year she qualified for Team USA and would go on to
compete at her first Olympics in Beijing. For the next three years she competed at the USA
Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 1st place in 2009 and 2011, and 2nd place
in 2010, respectively. Another first-place medal would come in 2011 at the USA Outdoor
Track and Field Championships and a third-place at the Pan American Games. Her second
Olympic appearance came in 2012 in London after finishing second at the USA Olympic
Trials. She placed second in the World Indoor Championship and then finished fourth in
London. For the next five consecutive years, starting in 2013, she claimed first place in the
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Her performance during those years followed
into the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships where she placed first every year from
2013 to 2016. In 2016, she won gold in the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships,
World Indoor Championships, USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, and the Rio
Olympics. During her third Olympic appearance she finished at the top of the podium and set
an American record with a throw of 67’-8.25”. This marked the first time an American woman
had won gold in the shot put at the Olympics. In 2017, she placed third in both the World
Outdoor Championships and USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. She finished
second at the 2019 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
Outside of her professional career, she is the founder of her non-profit You Throw Girl
Sports Confidence Camp. This camp is a way to empower young female athletes' confidence
in their athletic and personal lifestyles. Carter’s legacy will not only live on in the record books
but through her camp. To this day, she still holds the USATF Outdoor Championship Record
with 66’-5” set in 2013 and the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field
Championships, 15-16 girls division, with 45’-10” set in 2001. Carter was inducted into the
University of Texas Hall of Honor in 2016 and the Texas Track and Field Coaches
Association Hall of Fame in 2018. She was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.