Carmelita Jeter
Encyclopedia
Carmelita Jeter is an American sprinter
who specializes in the 100 meters. She is the 2011 IAAF World Champion
in the 100 metres
.
She won the 100 m bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
and a gold at the World Athletics Final
. she won a second World Championship
bronze. However, greater performances followed, winning her second gold of the World Athletics Final in 10.67 seconds and winning the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
in 10.64 seconds after that. This made her the second fastest woman ever in the 100 m, beating Marion Jones
's best and bringing her closer to Florence Griffith-Joyner
's long standing world record. Currently she holds three of the top ten times ever run.
. Initially, basketball
was the preferred sport in her family, and her younger brother, Eugene, later joined the Sacramento Kings
. Her basketball coach suggested that she try out track, and a 11.7 second run confirmed her natural talent for sprinting. Jeter set the record for most NCAA medals by a California State University, Dominguez Hills
track athlete and became the University's first U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier. A recurring hamstring
problem kept her out of competition for much of 2003–05, and it was not until 2007 that she made her first impact in senior track and field athletics, having undergone treatment with deep tissue massage
.
at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
with a personal best of 7.17 seconds, and she remained in good form, improving her 100 m best to 11.04 seconds to take fourth place in the 100 m at the Adidas Track Classic
. Building upon this, she qualified for her first major competition by finishing third at the national championships behind Torri Edwards
and Lauryn Williams
. She went on to win the bronze medal at the World Championships
in a personal best time of 11.02 seconds, as well as taking the 100 m gold at the 2007 World Athletics Final.
The following year, she competed at the 100 and 200 m U.S. Olympic trials
. Although she set a 100 m best of 10.97 seconds in the quarter-finals, she did not progress beyond the semifinals, finishing just two hundredths out of the qualifying positions. A sixth place finish in the 200 m meant she had not made the 2008 Summer Olympics
team, despite being one of the favourites for selection. She qualified for the 100 and 200 m races at the 2008 World Athletics Final but only managed fourth and fifth place, respectively. She changed coach in November, deciding to work with John Smith
, who had previously coached athletes such as Maurice Greene
. Smith began completely remodelling Jeter's running style.
In her 2009 season, she showed strong performances going into the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
. She ran 7.11 seconds in the 60 meters in the indoor season, the fastest by any athlete that year and a personal best. She remained in-form in her outdoor season, recording a fast 10.96 seconds at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays
, winning gold at the 2009 Nike Prefontaine Classic
, and taking her first national title at the 2009 U.S. Outdoor Championships. At the 2009 London 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's Shelly-Ann Fraser
and Kerron Stewart
. A week prior to the start of the World Championships, Jeter was part of a United States 4 x 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.
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Jeter was one of the favourites for the gold medal as a 10.83 seconds 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 the IAAF Golden League
meets in Zurich and Brussels
with two sub-10.90 runs.
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 between Alexandria Anderson and Muna Lee, Lee horrifically injured her leg which caused elimination from the relay event. Jamaica
eventually claimed the gold medals
She entered the 2009 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 the IAAF World Athletics Final
. She won the 100 m race in Thessaloniki
, Greece with a time of 10.67, to become the third fastest woman in history and set a championship record. This was the fastest run in twelve years; a time which had only been bettered by Marion Jones
and Florence Griffith-Joyner
, and 0.16 seconds faster than Jeter had ever run before. She ran even faster a week later at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
, winning in 10.64 seconds (the fourth fastest time ever) to become the second fastest woman outright.
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 about performance 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". She improved her 60 m best to 7.02 seconds to win at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
. This was still slower than LaVerne Jones-Ferrette, and Jeter resolved to improve further for the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
.
The 2011 IAAF World Champion for Women's 100M with a time of 10.90.
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
who specializes in the 100 meters. She is the 2011 IAAF World Champion
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
in the 100 metres
2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres
The Women's 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 27, 28 and 29.Prior to the championships, American Carmelita Jeter held the fastest time of the year and the 2009 bronze medalist entered the competition as the second fastest woman of...
.
She won the 100 m bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
and a gold at the World Athletics Final
2007 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007.-Men:- Women :-External links:*...
. she won a second World Championship
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
bronze. However, greater performances followed, winning her second gold of the World Athletics Final in 10.67 seconds and winning the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
The Shanghai Golden Grand Prix is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, PR China as part of the IAAF Diamond League. The meeting has had its inaugural edition in 2005...
in 10.64 seconds after that. This made her the second fastest woman ever in the 100 m, beating Marion Jones
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones , also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is a former world champion track and field athlete, and a former professional basketball player for Tulsa Shock in the WNBA...
's best and bringing her closer to Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner , also known as Flo-Jo was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged...
's long standing world record. Currently she holds three of the top ten times ever run.
Early life
Jeter attended Bishop Montgomery High SchoolBishop Montgomery High School
Bishop Montgomery High School is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Conventual Franciscans, and lay faculty...
. Initially, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
was the preferred sport in her family, and her younger brother, Eugene, later joined the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. Her basketball coach suggested that she try out track, and a 11.7 second run confirmed her natural talent for sprinting. Jeter set the record for most NCAA medals by a California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills is a public university located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County and was founded in 1960...
track athlete and became the University's first U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier. A recurring hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
problem kept her out of competition for much of 2003–05, and it was not until 2007 that she made her first impact in senior track and field athletics, having undergone treatment with deep tissue massage
Deep tissue massage
A deep tissue massage is designed to relieve severe tension in the muscle and the connective tissue or fascia. This type of massage focuses on the muscles located below the surface of the top muscles...
.
International success
In 2007, Jeter won a silver medal in the 60 meters60 meters
The 60 meter band or 5 MHz band is a relatively new amateur radio allocation and originally only available in a few countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Ireland and Iceland...
at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
with a personal best of 7.17 seconds, and she remained in good form, improving her 100 m best to 11.04 seconds to take fourth place in the 100 m at the Adidas Track Classic
Adidas Track Classic
The Adidas Track Classic is an American track and field athletics meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area meetings where athletes can earn points to qualify for...
. Building upon this, she qualified for her first major competition by finishing third at the national championships behind Torri Edwards
Torri Edwards
Torri Edwards is an American sprinter. She was a rising young star in 100 and 200 metres, winning an Olympic medal in 4×100 metres relay in 2000. In 2003 she won six medals in major international competitions, including one World Championship gold...
and Lauryn Williams
Lauryn Williams
Lauryn Williams is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for the United States...
. She went on to win the bronze medal at the World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
in a personal best time of 11.02 seconds, as well as taking the 100 m gold at the 2007 World Athletics Final.
The following year, she competed at the 100 and 200 m U.S. Olympic trials
United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...
. Although she set a 100 m best of 10.97 seconds in the quarter-finals, she did not progress beyond the semifinals, finishing just two hundredths out of the qualifying positions. A sixth place finish in the 200 m meant she had not made the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
team, despite being one of the favourites for selection. She qualified for the 100 and 200 m races at the 2008 World Athletics Final but only managed fourth and fifth place, respectively. She changed coach in November, deciding to work with John Smith
John Smith (athlete)
John Walton Smith is a former American athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400 metres event at the 1971 Pan American Games....
, who had previously coached athletes such as Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
. Smith began completely remodelling Jeter's running style.
In her 2009 season, she showed strong performances going into the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
. She ran 7.11 seconds in the 60 meters in the indoor season, the fastest by any athlete that year and a personal best. She remained in-form in her outdoor season, recording a fast 10.96 seconds at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays
Mt. SAC Relays
The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The relays, held in April each year, were started by then track coach Hilmer Lodge in 1959. The meet attracts all levels and disciplines of...
, winning gold at the 2009 Nike Prefontaine Classic
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.-History:...
, and taking her first national title at the 2009 U.S. Outdoor Championships. At the 2009 London Grand Prix
London Grand Prix
The Aviva London Grand Prix is an annual athletics event at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England.Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League...
, 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's Shelly-Ann Fraser
Shelly-Ann Fraser
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, OD is a Jamaican sprinter, who specializes in the 100 m. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser is the reigning Olympic champion over 100 m, clocking a time of 10.78...
and Kerron Stewart
Kerron Stewart
Kerron Stewart is a Jamaican sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is the 2008 Jamaican national champion in the 100 m clocking 10.80s. She defeated World Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the process and now is the 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist after she...
. A week prior to the start of the World Championships, Jeter was part of a United States 4 x 100 m relay team that ran the fastest women's sprint relay in twelve years. Lauryn Williams, Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for the United States, primarily in the 200 meters. She also competes at the 100 meters and the 400 meters distances...
, Muna Lee and Jeter finished with a time of 41.58 seconds, bringing them to eighth on the all time list.
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Jeter was one of the favourites for the gold medal as a 10.83 seconds 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 the IAAF Golden League
IAAF Golden League
The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations...
meets in Zurich and Brussels
Memorial Van Damme
Memorial van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium that takes place in late August or early September...
with two sub-10.90 runs.
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 between Alexandria Anderson and Muna Lee, Lee horrifically injured her leg which caused elimination from the relay event. Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
eventually claimed the gold medals
She entered the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final
2009 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics meetings which began on September 20, 2008 at the...
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 the IAAF World Athletics Final
IAAF World Athletics Final
The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the IAAF World Athletics Series and was the culmination of the...
. She won the 100 m race in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece with a time of 10.67, to become the third fastest woman in history and set a championship record. This was the fastest run in twelve years; a time which had only been bettered by Marion Jones
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones , also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is a former world champion track and field athlete, and a former professional basketball player for Tulsa Shock in the WNBA...
and Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner , also known as Flo-Jo was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged...
, and 0.16 seconds faster than Jeter had ever run before. She ran even faster a week later at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
The Shanghai Golden Grand Prix is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, PR China as part of the IAAF Diamond League. The meeting has had its inaugural edition in 2005...
, winning in 10.64 seconds (the fourth fastest time ever) to become the second fastest woman outright.
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 about performance 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". She improved her 60 m best to 7.02 seconds to win at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
. This was still slower than LaVerne Jones-Ferrette, and Jeter resolved to improve further for the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:...
.
Personal bests
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 meters 55 metres 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes.... |
6.84 | Fresno, California Fresno, California Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation... , United States |
January 21, 2008 |
| 60 meters 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
7.02 | Albuquerque, United States | February 28, 2010 |
| 100 meters 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
10.64 | Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... , China |
September 20, 2009 |
| 200 meters 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
22.20 | Fontvieille Fontvieille, Monaco Fontvieille is the newest of the four traditional quarters in the principality of Monaco, and one of ten Wards for modern administrative purposes. It is located in the western part of Monaco... , Monaco |
July 22, 2011 |
- All information from IAAF profile.
The 2011 IAAF World Champion for Women's 100M with a time of 10.90.
External links
- USATF profile for Carmelita Jeter
- Diolase 10 Laser Therapy case study for Carmelita Jeter