Why Carmelita, the world’s fastest woman, may need a disguise after the Games

 
p71 Carmelita Jeter and Tiffany Townsend compete in the women's 200 meter semi-finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Friday, June 29, 2012, in Eugene, Ore.

The fastest man on the planet is well known, the fastest woman less so. Carmelita Jeter can walk around the principality of Monaco, where her summer training camp is based, completely unnoticed.

Back in the United States and London, where she is currently preparing for this weekend’s Aviva London Grand Prix, there is recognition but not on the scale of Usain Bolt.

“It’s not like I need to wear a baseball hat and sunglasses, but people do recognise me,” she reveals.

The 32-year-old (above) measures in at just 5ft 4in and is very much a pocket rocket. The current world champion, she is the fastest woman in the world with a personal best of 10.64sec.

Only two women have ever run faster, Marion Jones, who was later imprisoned over her doping, and Florence Griffith Joyner, whose career was overshadowed by accusations of cheating long before she died in her bed at the age of 38 following an epileptic fit.

The often feisty Jeter takes offence rather than credit that she might be the fastest clean athlete that the sport has ever seen. “I definitely feel that FloJo was a great athlete,” she says. “She was never convicted of taking drugs so I’m not about to throw her under a bus.”

Such have been the past indiscretions of both male and female sprinters that the spectre of suspicion also looms over Jeter as the fastest exponent of her era but she insists it is all down to hard work.

Her showdown with Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the athlete most likely to upset the American in London, is one of the key track clashes both this weekend and again at the Olympics. “I always want to run against and test myself against the best,” says Jeter.

The Californian resident also loves London. She has taken in some of the sights although is vague on the details, the No1 focus point being her favourite restaurant.

“I’ve seen the big clock and also the guards standing outside some of the buildings that can’t move a muscle,” she says. “And I love going to that chicken place. Nando’s, isn’t it? I hope to see more of London this summer.”

For her part, Jeter is just happy to have the chance to compete at the Games. In 2008, she failed to qualify for Beijing after finishing out of the top three in the trials. This year there was no repeat and she will run in the 100m and 200m individual events as well as the 4x100m.

That low in Beijing proved to be the turning point of her career, after which she started working with John Smith, who has previously coached Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon.

“I should have been in the team in Beijing but I just wasn’t prepared for the trials,” she admits looking back. “I was devastated. That’s when I made the change to work with John. Right now, I’m just trying to follow every direction he gives me.”

Jeter swears by everything Smith says and insists she never questions him as he barks instructions from the sidelines.

“There’s no point in questioning him,” she says. “If he tells me to run 300m or 400m, I do. He’s a great coach.” Some Smith mantras pop up in conversation, most notably: “If you focus on running fast, you never run fast”.

So Smith’s goal on the startline is: “Trying to be as clean as I can, to execute and do the things I’ve been training for.” And then? “I just focus on the finishing line.”

Jeter’s career in athletics was not something pre-planned. The sport of choice growing up in the Jeter household was basketball — her brother Eugene used to play in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings. Such is her diminutive stature, basketball was always going to be an unlikely career although she was an able competitor.

In the end, she turned to athletics at the behest of her coach and has never looked back. “I loved it, still do,” she says. “I’m not sure what’s different. It’s not that I’m not a team player as I’m part of a coaching team and also do the 4x100m relay. I just like going fast.”

With two runs under 11sec already this season, Jeter is on course to do just that on a few occasions in the capital in the ensuing weeks.

Watch the world’s best athletes in action at the Aviva London Grand Prix on 13-14 July at Crystal Palace. For tickets, visit: uka.org.uk/aviva-series or call 08000 556056

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