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32 January 2013 Track & Field News

Carmelita Jeterast in London and especiallyas anchor o the U.S.s World Record 4 x100has been busy since the Games.Photo shoots, promotional travel or sponsor

Nike; TV appearances; a Childrens HospitalGala. She even played with the baby cheetah at theNational Zoo in Washington, D.C., named ater her.

All because the 33-year-old Caliornian, alreadythe second-astest woman ever to sprint 100 meters,added to her renown by winning a complete set omedals in the same Olympics with her 4x1 gold,100 silver and 200 bronze. She became just the thirdwoman in Games historyand the only Americaneverto do it:

T&FN: What are your eelings about that three-medal accomplishment?

Jeter: Its an amazing achievement. I wasjust so blessed and happy or what I did

in London. Toknow it was myirst Olympicsmade it all themore amazingto me.

T &FN: Alsoconsidering that

you didn t makethe Trials 100

nal in 08 . Whathappened then

and was that a4-year motivationto keep you moving

o rw ar d to wa rdLondon?

J e te r : Yes,i t was a b igmotiv a t ion . Ithink not makingthe 08 nal hada lot to do withm e m a k i n gthe 07 Worldsand winning a

bronze medal.

I t h i n k Ididnt train ashard or 08. Ithink I elt likeI would just begiven a spot, but

it doesnt work that way.I got a reality check, probably the best one

I could have ever received. Ater not makingthat team, I did a lot o things dierently: Ichanged my coach to John Smith. I changedmy mentality so track became my lie and mycareer, my job. I think thats what really pushedme to do as well as I did this year.

T&FN: O your three medals, was one anymore special than the others? Or were they all justseparate rewards or separate situations?

Jeter: Every race was dierent and tookdierent preparation. Butstill, winning the 4x1 goldmedal and breaking theWorld Record was thehighlight o my 2012 season.Breaking a record thatpeople said couldnt be

broken.So much talk was,

Women can t breakrecords. That was soannoying; to hear over andover what women couldntdo.

Then to go out and breakthe recordnot just breakit, but absolutely demolishit. It elt really good on awomans side, to show thatwomen could break records.

When I crossed the nishline, you could see I wasull o excitement, joy, tears.I was ull o everything

because it was just an epicmomentand not just orthe U.S. team. It was epic

or women in general, pluswe were the USA team. Itwas a double treat.

T&FN: Can you describethe eeling o looking at thatclock and not only seeing a timeunder the old 41.37 record, buteven under 41-fat itsel?

Jeter: When I got thestick, I just rushed towardthe nish line. O course,when youre anchor, allyoure thinking is, I haveto get to the nish line. TheothersTianna Madison,

Allyson Felix and BiancaKnightdid such a great

job, I cant ruin it. Thatsall I thought.

As I got closer and closerto the line, I realized, Wereabout to break the WorldRecord! 36, 37, 38 seconds: I was literallylooking at the clock as Im running. Ive never

been a person to express so much emotion.When I ran 10.67 back in 09, I was extremelyexcited and I cried and screamed.

But when we broke that World Record, itwas a eeling that I cant even describe. As I

ran, I elt like I was running on air; not eventouching the ground. As I got closer to the nish,I pointed at the clock because I thought, Thereit is. People said we couldnt do it; couldnt

just get the stick around, let alone break therecord. But we did it.

And in no way did I want to come acrossas disrespectul to any o the other runners.But I just could not hide any o that emotionthat was just spewing out o me. There was noway or me to tuck it in or stop screaming. I

Jeter In

A NutshellPersonal: Carmelita Jeter

(rhymes with better) was born

November 24, 1979; in Los

Angeles, California; 5-4/117

(1.63/53)

Schools: Bishop Montgom-

ery HS (Torrance, California)

98; Cal State Dominguez Hills

03; now represents NikePRs: 607.02(A) 10 ;

10010.64 (09) (2, 3 W, A);

20022.11 (12) (12, x A);

40053.08 09

Coaches: Warren Edmonson

(Cal State Dominguez Hills);

Larry Wade (professional);

John Smith (pro)

Major Meets: 602)USi 07;

1)USi, 3)WCi 10; 2)USi 11.

1002)NC II 02; 2)NC II 03;

3)US, 3)WC 07; 5sf)OT 08; 1)

US, 3)WC 09; 1)US, 1)WC 11;

1)OT, 2)OG 12. 2003)NC II

03; 6)OT 08; 2US, 2)WC 11;

2)OT, 3)OG 12. 4x1dnf-h)

WC 09; 1)WC 11; 1)OG 12

World/U.S. Rankings: 100

3, 2 07; x, 6 08; 1, 1 09; 1, 1

10; 1, 1 11; ?, ? 12. 200x,

7 08; x, 6 10; 2, 1 11; ?, ? 12.

T&FN INTERVIEW

Carmelita Jeterby

Jon

Hendershott

MARK SHEARMAN

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The Bible Of The Sport January 2013 33

just couldnt do it . I would have been almostas excited just or us to be on the podiumbutor us to be on the podium with a gold medaland with the record, that was the cake, the icingand the ice cream all in one.

T&FN: Has it been a great benet to ace thelarge number o top-class competitors in the womenssprints since you rst emerged in 07? You know

you have to bring your very best to every race.Jeter: It helps me and it also helps the

womens sprints. It helps us to put our eventsat the ront o the stage. It helps us to whereno top meet can be held without us. It reallyhelps us as women in our sport that we have

really top-notch people bringing their A-gameto every race.

It helps grow the generation behind us, tohelp them improve and get better. Its greatthat were running well; great that we haveto bring our top game to every race. Thats adenite plus.

But when youre training, you have to trainand think, OK, its real now. Everybody istraining hard and running well. I denitelyeel its great or the sport and Im not backingdown rom it at all. I eel its great exposureor all o us. And I also hope that as well aswe all are running now really promotes trackand eld.

T&FN: Among the top women sprinters, whatare the interactions like? You see each other in races,

yes, but what about o the track?Je te r: I wouldnt say that we have

relationships, but there also is no ill will onanyones part. Away rom the line, I speak to

all the women. At the end o the day, were stillwomen. We still are a great orce in the sport.I dont hate anyone.

But once we get on the track, its business.Its my career; this is what I do, what I love.And its my job. But were in an environmentwhere were around each other a lot. So theres

no need or bad blood. We dont run aroundlooking at each other sideways.

T&FN: Did that positive attitude toward yourcompetitors also carry over to the U.S. 4x1?

Jeter: It did. We were playing, talking,laughing, cracking jokes. We were all womenwho deal with each other in the same races,

but when we went out there, we went out as ateam. We put everything aside and went out asa unit. Thats one big thing that took us around

that track and brought us the record.T&FN: You have said that the 100 World Record

is now a viable goal. Also that you want and enjoymeeting your prime rivals in race ater race. Is that

because they push you to be yourbest and maybe one day you can

get a record?Jeter: I do believe that the

World Record is obtainable.But its obtainable only i youhave the best o the best on theline. Plus the best conditions,like a 2.0 tailwind.

But I deinitely eel itsachievable and having the

best women on the line bringsthe best out o you. You knowthat you cant play around.You have to bring your best,

because that brings out thebest in everyone.

And I want to make itperectly clear that Ill neverrun away rom a race. Imalways willing to race. Thetraining can be diicult,especially to know thatits okay to rest. But Im acompetitor and I want to raceanybody, anytime, anywhere.

T&FN: Have you and Johndiscussed the level o trainingneeded or you to run 10.48 whilealso not causing your body tobreak down with injury?

Jeter: We have discussedthat and, being that Im goingto run until 2016, how Imgoing to keep my body intact.How we cant push every dayas i I was 23, instead o 33.And how were going to attackthe meets in 2013. We haveto be smarter all the way upthrough 2016.

Being that Im 33 this year,

we denitely have to approacheach year dierently. We cantput so much stress on my body.

Being that I love to run allthe time, John is going to haveto pull in my coattails and say,OK, Jet, we have to make

sure we dont get you hurt. We have to makesure we keep you going or our more years.I just wont run as much. We denitely havea plan going toward Rio and that is to not tapmy body out.

T&FN: You were just an 11.6 sprinter in col legeat a Div. II school. But ater that, including 08,

I pointed at the clock

because I thought, There it

is. People said we couldnt

do it; couldnt just get the

stick around, let alone break

the record. But we didit.

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34 January 2013 Track & Field News

Carmelita Jeter continued:

what motivated you, kept driving you to put in thework to get to the top?

Jeter: I had a great college coach at Cal StateDominguez Hills in Warren Edmonson. He waspart o UCLAs team in the early 70s and wasa world-class sprinter. I still talk with him andhe is still such a great mentor to me.

He was the one in 08 who told me not togive up. He said, You have so much potential,so much let in you. Please dont give up. Itold him I wouldnt. He is a really big part ome being so successul.

Its so hard to nd a great college coach, acoach who believes in you so much. Just havingWarren always in my ear, telling me great thingsabout mysel, really pushed me to make theOlympic team. But more than that, he most

wanted me to graduate rom college. He justwanted me to be great as a person. Between08 and 12, I relied on all the positive energythat he always had or me.

T & F N : On anotherpersonal matter, you havesaid that your mother andespecially an aunt who passedaway rom breast canceralways were central to you.

Jeter: This year washard. I had never lostsomeone as extremelyclose to me as my aunt,

Brenda Washington. Ibought my rst home rightdown the street rom her.She actually picked outthe house.

So when I lost myaunt last March, it was adicult time because I stillhad to be an athlete andstill had to do my job. But

it was dicult.S o m e t i m e s

I dont thinkpeople realizethat athletes are

human, too. Yes,were paid to beready to race,

bu t we r e st il lhuman. So ithurt.

It wasthemostpainul thing Iever dealt with. Iwould train andgo right rom thetrack and stay atthe hospital withher all day. Itwas probably theworst thing ever.

T & F N :Looking ahead,does having anautomatic bid orthe 13 Worldsmake it any easieron your and Johnsa t t i t u d e a n dapproach or nextseason?

Jeter: I dontthink it makes iteasier. I started

back trainingon November 12. But every year,

someone else is stepping up. Someoneelse is training harder because theywant to be the best. It isnt easier,

because I have that bull s-eye onmy back.

Every year, things just get harderand you have to train to win, to bethe best. Every year we come into theseason like, This is what we need todo and its dierent every year.

T&FN: How do you eel that sprinting itselast and quick-twitch by its very naturecapturessome o who Carmelita Jeter is as a person, a womanand an athlete?

Jeter: Sprinting is my lie as well as my

career. Its what I breathe, eat and sleep. It alsorefects my lie outside o the sport because Ido everything ast. Im really coordinated andIm very particular about how I do things.

Every night, I write out an agenda o whatI have to do the next day. That comes romsprinting because you have to be in the callroom at a certain time, start your warm up ata certain time and so on. Thats like my day:I have to be here at noon and then go thereat 4:00.

All that translates into my lie andeverything I do. So my athletic career reallyolds into my regular liestyle.

Now A 200 Threat As WellWhile she rst established her name in the 100,

Carmelita Jeter emerged in the last two years as a orce

in the 200 as well, winning an 11 Worlds silver andOlympic bronze this season. Yet the hal-lapper wasntanything new to her:

Actually, in high school and college, I ran the200. But the rst year I got with John Smith, I said,Im not running the 200 anymore. As time wenton, though, I embraced and enjoyed the 200 more.I really wanted to be on the big stage in the 200and that meant at the Olympics.

The crazy thing is, I was dinged up all o2012. I had a back problem, which then causeda hamstring problem. When I had those injuries,

John said, What can I do dierently so that youdont get hurt again? He did a great job makingsure it didnt happen again.

I rst got dinged up in Shanghai in Mayracing the 200 in the rain. Getting hurt put apause in training. I was still hurting at the Trials,yet I made the 100 team. John and [agent] ChrisLayne both said, Youre not doing the 200. Youmade the 100 and well take that. But I thought,Uh, no. I did all the o-season 200 work and Iam running it.

So I made the team and I elt, I want to get onthe medal stand in the 200. I was ortunate and

blessed to get the bronze medal. And I love the200 now. I dont think anyone would be able topull me out o it. Its a part o me and Im doing it.

I was determined to run it. But besides Johnsgreat coaching, Chris also did a ne job, saying, I

dont think you should compete this week. Ima student at this game, but I still listen. Thatsprobably the biggest part o being a great athlete,to listen.

When those you trust say its time to sit, yousit. When they eel youre ready to go, you go.Thats something really important that I learnedthis year: to listen to the people who have my

best interests in mind.

stevesutton/duomo

Sprinting is my life as well as

my career. Its what I breathe,

eat and sleep. It also refects

my life outside of the sport

because I do everything fast.