Michelle Carter is an Olympic gold medalist. An American record holder. A Nike-sponsored athlete. She’s the first American woman to earn gold in shot put—she won in Rio in 2016—and only the second to medal in the sport. So it’s surprising that she has a story about her high school coach singling her out on the track and field team.

“I was always last,” Michelle said, reflecting on running in high school. “I was last on purpose. So the coach was like, ‘If Michelle wins—if she beats everybody—we're done.’ She just knew that I wasn't going to beat the fastest girl on the team. But when I took off, I was half a court ahead of everybody. I can run. Don't underestimate me.”

Shot put glory runs in the Carter family, though Michelle didn’t learn that until she gravitated to the sport in middle school. Her father and coach, Michael, won silver in shot put at the 1984 Olympics, but Michelle grew up thinking of him as a three-time Super Bowl-winning nose tackle. “My dad never brought it up because he didn't want us to pick [a sport] because of what he did.”

Unaware of the family legacy, Michelle was drawn to the athleticism of shot put. “I could use all of who and what I am. In a lot of different sports, especially when you're a different-sized athlete, people tell you what you can and cannot do. They kind of limit you and put you in a box.”

That’s a pattern Michelle is trying to break both through the example she sets as an Olympic athlete, and her charitable work through her non-profit organization, One Golden Shot, which supports young athletes.