I know that God is intentional with everything that He brings to me and what He does for me. I'm not here just to be here. God made me intentionally! He created me on purpose, for a reason! To throw the shot put for sure. That's one of the things I am created to do.
— Michelle Carter
You have to grow up, and you learn things along the way.
My dad never wanted to push what he did on us. It was more, for him, if you chose to do this, then we're going to do it, and we're going to get it right. It was, 'I know how to do it. I'm going to teach you how to do it because I want you to be good at it.'
For a couple of years, being professional, I kind of questioned myself. Should I wear my false lashes or take the time I want to take so I can feel good when I go out on the field? Because nobody else was really doing that. And I thought, No: I'm not going to change what I believe I should look like to fit anybody else's standards.
The first event I vividly remember was competing at the Junior Olympics in Seattle, Washington. It was my first major competition outside of Texas, and I remember being very nervous. I could not control my nerves, and I threw a few fouls.
Being a female athlete, sometimes your clothes don't fit right if you have a small waist and broad shoulders, or strong hips. And it's OK to embrace that.
I think it's important to do whatever makes you feel your best.
One of my sayings is: look good, feel good, do good.
I love what I do and know I'm good at it. It helps that I can get financial support along the way.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, right? I always figure that as you experience life and things, you usually learn and pick up on things that you can do better. That's how I look at my career over time.
My goal is to beat you whether you're clean or dirty.
I was not aware of what my dad had accomplished. I grew up with him playing football.
The parents say, 'Can you talk to my daughter and say that it's OK? That she can have muscles?' They'll say, 'I show her pictures of you so they can know she's good at what she does but still looks like a girl. She wears dresses.' It releases people to be whoever they want to be in the sport.
I loved playing with a doll as a youngster. I liked dressing her up and combing her hair. This one doll had a really big face and hair and earrings. I had her for a long time and only got rid of her when I was at high school.
My very first sport was soccer. I used to play in goal, but after I was hit the face with the ball a couple of times, I was done with soccer.
In college, I would do my teammate's hair and their makeup sometimes. I did a friend's makeup at the 2008 Olympics, and she said, 'Have you ever considered taking classes?' For some reason, it had never crossed my mind.
I just encourage young girls to be true to themselves.
I love hair, I love make up, I love fashion, and I love throwing the shot put.
At my first Olympics, I didn't have a contract, and I wasn't making any money. After my first Olympics, I was working at 24 Hour Fitness at the front desk. I would go to practice in the morning, run home, shower, grab some food and then go straight to work. I didn't get off of work until 10 or 11 o'clock at night.
My body had to mature, and my mind had to mature. I had to put these pieces together.
The best piece of advice my father gave me was to always work hard. One thing he instilled: Proper preparation prevents poor performances.
You have to understand, everyone's body was built to do something. I was built to do something, and that's how I was built. I think the world is realizing we were promoting one body type, and there have always been many.
My first media interview was when I was a high school freshman and I was set to compete at state champs. The interview was the first occasion people had heard me on TV. When I watched back the recording on TV, I thought, 'Wow, is that what I sound like?' I didn't like the sound of my voice.
Everybody wants to come out and win the gold, and sometimes it takes a personal best, sometimes it doesn't. But to be able to have all those pieces come together, it's a great feeling.
For some people, being bare-faced is wonderful. Others like a little bit of mascara and eyeliner.
If you are feeling good, you look good, you are confident about yourself, you are going to go out there, and you will rock it.
I'm in a sport where people don't look at us like women: they don't look at us like being girls or feminine. But I've been girly all my life, and so I couldn't separate... between the sport and being a woman.
I learn how to put myself in situations at practice that cause me to zone in on what I'm trying to accomplish at meets. I try to make my practice surrounding as close to competition pressure to focus on what I need to do on the big stage.
