Carmelita Jeter Wins 2012 Olympic Women's 200m Bronze Medal

Carmelita Jeter, Team USA’s fastest woman, ran her way to a bronze medal with a time of 22.14 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Jeter finished behind fellow American Allyson Felix, who won gold in 21.88 seconds, and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished in 22.09 seconds.

After missing the 2008 Olympics with a poor qualifying effort in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, Jeter now has another medal to go along with the silver she won in the 100-meter dash earlier in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

What It Means

In another amazing story of redemption, Jeter came back from the heartbreak of missing the 2008 Olympics at 28 years old and being told she would likely never make the Games.

Four years later, Team USA’s fastest female runner has two medals to show all the doubters that she has what it takes to make an impact on the world’s stage.

Now that she has her hardware, Jeter’s years of hard work and personal turmoil have been vindicated; this is truly a great day for Team USA and everyone who has supported the track star through her career.

What’s Next?

For the 32-year-old track and field veteran, there is still plenty of fight left in her, but there will be natural questions about how father time will affect Jeter over the next four years.

When the 2016 Summer Olympics kick off in Brazil, Jeter will be 36 years old. There are big concerns, not only about whether she can come back and medal but whether she’ll be able to make the Olympics at all.

No matter what 2016 holds for Jeter, the title of the USA’s fastest women will earn her plenty of endorsement deals and mainstream popularity. She deserves it.

1	Allyson Felix, USA	21.88
2	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, JAM	22.09
3	Carmelita Jeter, USA	22.14
4	Veronica Campbell-Brown, JAM	22.38
5	Sanya Richards-Ross, USA	22.39
6	Murielle Ahoure, CIV	22.57
7	Myriam Soumare, FRA	22.63
8	Semoy Hackett, TRI	22.87

Check back for more on the 2012 Summer Olympics as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s Olympics page to get your fill of the best athletes the world has to offer.

Follow @Donald_Wood