Michelle Carter wins first U.S. women’s shot put gold, following in her father’s footsteps 32 years later

Michelle Carter made history on Friday night, becoming the first American woman to win gold in the shot put. In order to do it, she had to knock off the two-time defending gold medalist. Carter did just that on her final throw of the event, and to make the moment even more special she followed in her father’s footsteps in winning an Olympic medal in the event.

Carter’s father, Michael, won a silver medal in the shot put in 1984. He later went on to win three Super Bowls while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. He had a great seat to watch Michelle’s moment, serving as her coach. Michelle winning gold gives the family another Olympic medal, and is an incredible feat considering the challenge of the event. No American woman had won a medal in shot put since Earlene Brown won a bronze in 1960.

New Zealand’s Valerie Adams entered the event having won back-to-back golds. She was leading heading into the final round, before Carter launched the best throw of her career at 20.63 meters. Carter broke the American record with the throw, and it was good enough to grab the gold medal, 32 years after her father won his silver.