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Olympic shot put gold medalist, Michelle Carter, is Laura\u2019s very special guest on the podcast today. Michelle is a three-time Olympian and a World Championship gold medalist who has excelled at the national and international level over the past two decades. In addition to capturing eight Texas State U.I.L. titles in shot put and discus as well as two national girls\u2019 shot put records and the Texas state record in discus, Michelle\u2019s gold medal winning performance in the shot put at the 2016 Olympics made her the first United States female athlete to win the event since the women\u2019s competition began in 1948. Michelle is also an outspoken advocate for females in sport which becomes readily apparent as she shares her remarkable story with Laura here today.

Michelle details her career in sport from its very beginning through to current day, touching upon her \u2018Coach Daddy\u2019s\u2019 role in it, her experiences in high school, college and the Olympics, and how her mindset was developed and impacts her performance, along the way. She also discusses drug use in her sport, being on the pro circuit, dealing with illness and injury, and her tremendous faith, including how God \u2018shows up\u2019. She finishes up the conversation with an update on her career these days, how COVID has affected it, and the various initiatives that she has started to help girls in sport. Michelle Carter is undeniably an elite athlete whose achievements are utterly spectacular, and, as you will hear today, she is so much more. In her mindset, her confidence, her faith, her ethics, and her passion, she is a role model not only to other athletes, but to absolutely every one of us.

Episode Highlights:

\xb7 Michelle\u2019s start in sports and her journey to shot put\n\xb7 Her dad\u2019s track and football career and his role as \u2018Coach Daddy\u2019\n\xb7 Michelle\u2019s high school and college experience\n\xb7 Her Olympic experiences and how they all differed for her\n\xb7 Her mindset and how it was developed\n\xb7 Handling the build up to, and atmosphere at, the Olympics\n\xb7 Dealing with drug use in track and field\n\xb7 The pro circuit\n\xb7 Dealing with an injury in the build up to 2016 Olympics\n\xb7 A throw by throw account of her Olympic gold medal performance\n\xb7 How God \u2018shows up\u2019\n\xb7 Her career since the 2016 Olympics\n\xb7 How COVID has impacted her\n\xb7 Michelle\u2019s \u2018You Throw Girl Sports Confidence Camp\u2019\n\xb7 Her \u2018One Golden Shot\u2019, \u2018Fuel Up\u2019, and \u2018I\u2019m Supported\u2019 initiatives

Quotes:

\u201cI didn\u2019t look at it as if I always had to win. I just knew I had to do better than I did last time.\u201d

\u201cI wanted to meet the expectations that I had for myself.\u201d

\u201cIt was like I always kind of expect something to go wrong, and to be ready to kind of face that challenge.\u201d

\u201cI didn\u2019t want my first Olympic\u2026experience to be horrible, and I did truly feel like I was not ready.\u201d

\u201cThat year really proved to myself that I knew that I had what it takes to be successful.\u201d

\u201cI didn\u2019t see myself as one of the world\u2019s greatest athletes\u2026I was just so in awe.\u201d

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to put any extra pressure just because it was the Olympics\u2026I just have to go out there and compete to the best of my abilities.\u201d

\u201cI had pretty much just stayed off social media from the time I got to the Olympic Village until after I competed because I had to protect my energy.\u201d

\u201cI was actually diagnosed with Hashimoto\u2019s in 2010, so I knew that 2012 wasn\u2019t going to be easy.\u201d

\u201cAll I control is me\u2026I pride myself on being a clean athlete\u2026what\u2019s done in the dark will come to light.\u201d

\u201cI want to beat the dirtiest person on their best day with my clean self being ready on that day\u2026I\u2019m going to beat you while you\u2019re cheating.\u201d

\u201cBeing a part of one of the world\u2019s greatest teams, Team USA, we have all the medical things you ever need or want. \u201c

\u201cI\u2019m having these conversations in my head to keep myself balanced.\u201d

\u201cLord, listen, this is it. I only have one more throw. If You said that I could win, you better show up right now, because this is it.\u201d

\u201cWhat I had worked on showed up.\u201d

\u201cI know she has the ability to beat me. The question is, like, can she meet the challenge?\u201d

\u201cWhatever you want to do is possible.\u201d

\u201cI know now why He did it that way. It was to humble me and to reach so many more people and change their lives\u2026that\u2019s just such a God thing.\u201d

\u201cHe believed in me when I didn\u2019t quite believe in myself.\u201d

\u201cI know that I can still do better.\u201d

\u201cYou can be me and better.\u201d

\u201cI feel like once you\u2019re confident in who you are outside of your skills, add your skills on top of your confidence just in who you are, you become so powerful.\u201d

\u201cYou are so passionate about young girls and helping young girls. I love your heart.\u201d

Links:\nThe Pursuit of Gold homepage: http://thepursuitofgold.com/ \nMental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn \nLaura\u2019s Social Media:\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver \nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson

Connect with Michelle:\nWebsite: https://www.shotdiva.com/\n\u2018You Throw Girl\u2019: https://www.shotdiva.com/you-throw-girl\n\u2018One Golden Shot\u2019, \u2018Fuel Up\u2019, and \u2018I\u2019m Supported\u2019: https://www.shotdiva.com/onegoldenshot\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ShotDiva/