UPDATE: Michelle Carter won gold in Rio Friday, making her the first American woman to win a gold medal in that event.
ORIGINAL STORY: It took to win the Olympic shot put trials last month. The former Texas Longhorn All-American, NCAA champion and U.S. National champion qualified for her third Olympics and is looking to improve upon a fifth-place finish in London in 2012.
While Carter isn鈥檛 the only former Longhorns competing in various sports in Rio 鈥� there are 20 in total, with 13 competing for the United States 鈥� she is uniquely positioned to make U.S. Olympic history.
But, Carter and her fellow Longhorns are headed to a games mired in a parade of controversies that could rival Carnival鈥檚Sambadrome.
There鈥檚 the Zika virus, the pollution, the construction issues, the crime.
There鈥檚 the doping scandal that has barred the Russian track team from the games. Oh and, by the way, the Brazilian economy is struggling, while its President has been sidelined as she awaits a hearing that could have her removed from office on charges that may or may not have been trumped up by the Vice President, who is now in charge.
But those are issues for another day. With the games underway, Americans are focused on their TV screens and the pursuit of medals.
Carter is focused on the shot put, something she鈥檚 been working at too long to let distractions interfere.
She began throwing 鈥� as the insiders call it 鈥� in seventh grade. When she got home, her dad had some questions.
鈥淗e asked me tons of questions like 鈥榃ho said something to you? What did they say? How did they present it to you?鈥� And I鈥檓 trying to figure out, like, why is he asking me all of these questions? He said, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 understand now, but one day you will.鈥欌��
It wasn鈥檛 until high school that she realized her dad, , was the 1984 silver medalist in the shot put. He went on to win three Super Bowls as a defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers.
鈥淗e never wanted to pressure me to do what he did. If I chose it, it had to be my choice, and he didn鈥檛 want me to do it because of what he鈥檚 done,鈥� she said.
Something must be in the genes. Michelle Carter and her dad hold the national high school records for girls鈥� and boys鈥� shot put, respectively.
This week they could become the first father-daughter medalists in the same individual event in U.S. history.
鈥淭his is my third Olympics. It鈥檚 not the easiest job being a female thrower because you have to worry about your sponsorships and, you know, if you鈥檙e going to have enough money to do what you do. But hard work pays off and sometimes it鈥檚 delayed gratification," Carter said.
The women鈥檚 shot put competition is this Friday.
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