The 2016 Rio Olympics have been a gold rush for the USA. On Friday, Michelle Carter added to the pile of bling by becoming the first American woman to win gold in shot put. Carter is also a professional makeup artist known as the “Shot Diva” who runs a sports confidence camp for young female throwers. She spouts body positivity at every chance she can get, and she hopes young girls everywhere are listening.
“I just encourage young girls to be true to themselves,” Carter said after the victory Friday. “I’m in a sport that people don’t look at us like women. They don’t look at us being girly or feminine. But I’ve been girly all my life. I couldn’t separate the two between the sport and being a woman.”
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“I think now, it’s like, ‘You know what? We’re girls and we can throw heavy balls and be in the dirt and we look good while we’re doing it,’” she said. “I think it’s bringing more attention to the sport and girls are realizing, ‘Hey, I can do this and it’s OK to do this as a girl.’”
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As a makeup artist, Carter confessed to being unsure about wearing makeup on the field, but eventually decided to stick to her beliefs and passions.
“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,” Carter said. “And I thought, No: I’m not going to change what I believe I should look like to fit anybody else’s standards.”
Carter says that every body was built for something; hers just happens to be shot put!
“You have to understand everyone’s body was built to do something,” she said. “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.”
Keep on spreading the love, Michelle!
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