In 2016, Olympic shot-putter Michelle Carter won gold in Rio. She hopes to do the same in Tokyo in 2021, as the 2020 Games were postponed until next year.
Yes, it’s been a whirlwind couple of months for everyone, and Olympic athletes are no exception.
“Well, of course I was a little disappointed that the Olympics were postponed, but at the same time, I was relieved,” Carter told JR SportBrief. “Since we didn’t know much about this virus, I did not want to jeopardize my safety, as well as my family’s safety, by having them traveling and being out and we’re not sure what was going on. So it was actually a sigh of relief that I’m not sitting here waiting, trying to figure out what’s going to happen. Do we train? Do we not train? I think it was killing me being more in limbo than actually having the decision being made.”
Carter, 34, won gold at the World Indoor Championships in Portland in 2016 and in the World Junior Championships in Italy in 2004. She has continued her workout regimen as much as possible during the pandemic.
“Right now, I’m just at home doing at-home workouts,” she said. “I [do] some workouts myself, and I go for walks and I go for runs and just kind of enjoying myself in a different way and moving my body differently than I normally do. I’m actually feeling pretty good with it.”
Carter’s father, Michael, won silver in the shot put at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1984 to 1992, winning three Super Bowls.
They are taking the delay in stride.
“My goal is still the same: it’s to make the team and to win,” Carter said. “It’s just now I have more time to prepare. So I kind of look at using this time to rewind and go back and start working on some small things.”