SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Dubbed the “Fastest Woman Alive,” three-time Olympic medalist Carmelita Jeter has joined the track and field coachingstaff at Missouri State University, interim head coach Jordan Fife announced Wednesday (Aug. 29).
Jeter, who holds three of the top 10 fastest times ever run in the women’s100-meter dash, will join Fife’s staff as assistant coach in charge of the Bears’ sprinters and hurdlers when she comes on board Sept. 5.
Fife said landing an Olympic champion and world-renown coach is a remarkable boost to a program undergoing a transformation.
“I’m very excited for Carmelita to join the staff and be a part of the athletic department here at Missouri State,” said Fife. “We share a common vision and passion in how we want to build this program, and I can’t wait to getstarted with her.
Our student-athletes will truly have a special opportunity to be coached and mentored by one of the all-time greats in our sport. Through her professional career, she has accumulated endless experience at the highest level, and I’m looking forward to her sharing all of that with our current and futurestudent-athletes.”
“The Jet” anchored the US Olympic 4×100-meter relay team in 2012 thatsmashed the old world record by more than half a second en route to a gold medal. She also became the first athlete to ever medal in both the 100- and 200-meter races at an Olympic Games, taking home both the silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200.
She was named the Los Angeles Sports Woman of the Year in 2012 and later that year earned the Jesse Owens Award – the highest accolade in thesport of Track & Field, awarded by USA Track & Field, as the most outstanding US female track and field athlete.
Jeter returned to the track to compete at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, winning the bronze medal in that 100-meter dash, despite competing with a torn right quadricep.
Her personal best of 10.64 in the 100-meter dash, set in 2009, is thesecond-fastest mark ever in that event. She won three gold medals at the World Championships and two more in the World Athletics Finals between 2007 and 2011.
Off the track, she has continued to invest her time in community and philanthropic endeavors. She partnered with Nike to design hot pink spikes that she wears during each race in support of breast cancer research. In 2014, Jeter was named the official ambassador for the Susan G. Komen’sCalifornia Circle of Promise Initiative designed to promote breast cancer awareness among African American women. Her other charitable efforts are vast in scope and part of her continued efforts to give back to the community and sport she holds dear.
Jeter began her coaching career in 2004 as the boys and girls track and field coach at Bishop Montgomery High School in California where she alsoserved as assistant athletic director. From 2016 to 2017, she was sprints and hurdles coach at her alma mater, Cal State Dominguez Hills. She has been a certified Level 1 professional track coach since 2017, helping emerging athletes reach their potential with her own company, TeamJet, LLC.
She earned her degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2005 after a successful collegiate career in which she became the university’s first U.S. Olympic trials qualifier. Jeter went on to become the most decorated track & field athlete in the history of the school.
“I am very excited to join the staff at Missouri State,” said Jeter. “I want to thank Athletic Director Kyle Moats and everyone in the Athletic Department for making the interview process a fun and enjoyable experience. I look forward getting to know the team and to having a great track season. Go Bears!”
Her hire is subject to formal approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors at its next scheduled meeting.
