A basketball coach at
Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) encouraged then freshman Carmelita Jeter to run track in the spring to stay in shape.
Jeter never went back to basketball and the track-and-field world would be forever changed.
Utilizing an unyielding work ethic, a belief in herself and remarkable genes — she said identifies most with Kobe Bryant as an athlete — Jeter transformed herself into the fastest woman on the planet. Her 10.64-second time in the 100 meters in 2011 was the fastest ever — it now ranks No. 2 — and she currently owns three of the Top 10 100 women's time in history.
"I fell in love with track because it was a sport that made you accountable," Jeter said. "You couldn't hide from other people. You couldn't have another teammate bail you out. In track and field it's pretty much me, myself and I."
The three-time Olympic medalist unleashed a furious onslaught of confident and strong messages during a 25-minute-plus conversation with Nikki B in this week's Play Like a Girl podcast, the 20th of the season.
Jeter, now known as "coach Jet," is an assistant track and field coach at Missouri State.
She covers an array of topics with Nikki B, including how she accidentally fell into the sport, her rapid development after high school and her Olympic experiences.
Nikki Bondura — aka Nikki B — soaked up all of Jeter's responses.
The upbeat former collegiate athlete from Northern California wants
to build confidence of females who play sports by offering vital life
skills and advice in order to enhance their athletic careers, and
overall lives.
In her weekly podcasts, Nikki B brings in
expert guests to discuss a plethora of topics, ranging from and dealing
with teammate drama to peer pressure to social media to relationships
to inappropriate coaches.
A
winner on the Golf Channel's "Shotmakers," Nikki B is a former captain of the
Sacramento State golf team. She is a leader in the fields of blogging, social media, marketing, networking and branding.
Subscribe to the Play Like A Girl [PLAG] Channel HERE:
https://bit.ly/2KAChSo
Follow PLAG on Instagram HERE:
https://bit.ly/2MwdHDW
Follow PLAG on Twitter HERE:
https://bit.ly/2vL4ccI
Like PLAG on Facebook HERE:
https://bit.ly/2OomNDm
Subscribe to PLAG on iTunes HERE:
https://apple.co/2Buzue6
Follow PLAG on Spotify HERE:
https://spoti.fi/2whP1bt
Subscribe to PLAG on Google Play HERE:
http://bit.ly/PLAGGoogle 
Photo courtesy of Carmelita Jeter
