 Jeter at the 2011 World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1979-11-24)November 24, 1979 (age 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Running |
Event(s) | 100 meters,200 meters |
Medal record | |
Carmelita Jeter (/ˈdʒɛtər/JET-tər, born November 24, 1979) is a retired Americansprinter, who competed in the60 metres,100 m and200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter was called the "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal best of 10.64 seconds at the 2009Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. In the100 m, she was the2011 world champion and the 2012 Olympic silver medalist.
She won the 100 mbronze at the2007 World Championships in Athletics and agold at theWorld Athletics Final. She won a secondWorld Championship bronze in 2009. Her personal best of 10.64 s makes her the fifth fastest woman ever in the 100 m, behind Florence Griffith Joyner (10.49 s), Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54 s), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60 s), and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (10.61 s).[1][2]
In May 2023, she was named the new head coach of the track & field and cross country programs at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).[3]
Jeter was born on November 24, 1979.[4]
Jeter attendedBishop Montgomery High School inTorrance, California.[5] Initially,basketball was the preferred sport in her family, and her younger brother,Eugene, later joined theSacramento Kings. Her basketball coach suggested that she try out track, and an 11.7-second run confirmed her natural talent for sprinting.[6] Jeter graduated fromCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills, which is located in Carson, California, with a bachelor's degree in physical education. Jeter set the record for mostNCAA medals by a CSUDH track athlete and became the university's first U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier. A recurringhamstring problem kept her out of competition for much of 2003–05, and it was not until 2007 that she made her first impact in seniortrack and field athletics, having undergone treatment with deep tissuemassage.[7]
In 2007, Jeter won asilver medal in the60 meters at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best of 7.17 seconds,[8] and she remained in good form, improving her 100 m best to 11.04 seconds to take fourth place in the 100 m at theAdidas Track Classic.[6] Building upon this, she qualified for her first major competition by finishing third at the national championships behindTorri Edwards andLauryn Williams.[9] She went on to win the bronze medal at theWorld Championships in a personal best time of 11.02 seconds, as well as taking the 100 m gold at the2007 World Athletics Final.
The following year, she competed at the 100 and200 mU.S. Olympic trials. Although she set a 100 m best of 10.97 seconds in the quarter-finals,[10] she did not progress beyond the semifinals, finishing just two hundredths out of the qualifying positions.[11] A sixth-place finish in the 200 m meant she had not made the2008 Summer Olympics team, despite being one of the favourites for selection.[12] She qualified for the 100 and 200 m races at the2008 World Athletics Final, but only managed fourth and fifth place, respectively. She changed coach in November, deciding to work withJohn Smith, who had previously coached athletes such asMaurice Greene. Smith began completely remodelling Jeter's running style.[6]
In her 2009 season, she showed strong performances going into the2009 World Championships in Athletics. She ran 7.11 seconds in the 60 m in the indoor season, the fastest by any athlete that year and a personal best.[13] She remained in-form in her outdoor season, recording a fast 10.96 seconds at theMt. SAC Relays,[14] winning gold at the 2009 NikePrefontaine Classic, and taking her first national title at the 2009 U.S. Outdoor Championships.[15] At the 2009London Grand Prix, she placed first in the 100 m, clocking a personal best of 10.92; it was the third-fastest time at that point of the season, only slower than Jamaica'sShelly-Ann Fraser andKerron Stewart. A week prior to the start of the World Championships, Jeter was part of a United States4 × 100 m relay team that ran the fastest women's sprint relay in twelve years. Lauryn Williams,Allyson Felix,Muna Lee, and Jeter finished with a time of 41.58 seconds, bringing them to eighth on the all-time list.[16]
At the2009 World Athletics Championships, inBerlin, Jeter was one of the favorites for the gold medal as a 10.83-second personal best in the semis made her the fastest qualifier for the final. She ended up with her second World Championship bronze medal in the 100 m, however, finishing a tenth of a second behind Fraser and Stewart. The races after the championships proved more successful: she beat strong opposition in theIAAF Golden League meets inZurich andBrussels with two sub-10.90 runs.[17][18]
Jeter was also selected to run as part of the US relay team as the anchor runner. However, in their heat, during the change over betweenAlexandria Anderson andMuna Lee, Lee horrifically injured her leg which caused elimination from the relay event.Jamaica eventually claimed the gold medals.
She entered the2009 IAAF World Athletics Final having won her last three races by a significant margin. Even taking this into account, Jeter surprised with one of the highlights of the final edition of theIAAF World Athletics Final.[6][19] She won the 100 m race inThessaloniki,Greece with a time of 10.67, to become the third fastest woman in history and set a championship record.[20][21] This was the fastest run in twelve years; a time which had only been bettered byMarion Jones andFlorence Griffith-Joyner,[22] and 0.16 seconds faster than Jeter had ever run before.[23] She ran even faster a week later at theShanghai Golden Grand Prix, winning in 10.64 seconds (the fourth fastest time ever) to become the second fastest woman outright.[24]
Her fast times were a double-edged sword in that they brought as much suspicion as they did appreciation. At age 30, Jeter had improved her personal record by over a third of a second within a single season and she ranked between Jones and Griffith-Joyner in the all-time lists. Given the history of the women's sprints and speculation aboutperformance-enhancing drug use, Jeter said "I can't be upset about those questions [but] It's unfortunate that I work this hard and I don't get the credit I should get".[25] She improved her 60 m best to 7.02 seconds to win at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships. This was still slower thanLaVerne Jones-Ferrette, and Jeter resolved to improve further for the2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[26]
She retired in 2017 after injury prevented her from competing in the 2016 Olympics.[27]
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 meters | 6.84 | Fresno, California, United States | January 21, 2008 |
| 60 meters | 7.02 | Albuquerque, United States | February 28, 2010 |
| 100 meters | 10.64 | Shanghai, China | September 20, 2009 |
| 200 meters | 22.11 | Eugene, United States | June 30, 2012 |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women'sJesse Owens Award 2011 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
|
|
|
|
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in women's60 m(40 yards, 50 m, 50 yards, 60 yards, 55 m) | |
|---|---|
| 1927–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
|
| 1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
|
| 1993–present USA Track & Field |
|
| Notes | * Distances have varied as follows: 40 yards (1927–32), 50 meters (1933–54), 50 yards (1956–64), 60 yards (1965–86), 55 meters (1987–90) |
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
|
| Qualification |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's track and road athletes |
| |
| Men's field athletes | ||
| Women's track and road athletes |
| |
| Women's field athletes |
| |
| Coaches |
| |
