USA's Michelle Carter competes in women's shot put

Raven Saunders of the United States comes in fifth

(Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

 

American Michelle Carter won the gold medal in Friday night's women's shot put final at the Rio Olympics.

Recommended Videos



Carter's distance was 20.63 meters. Valerie Adams of New Zealand took silver and Anita Marton of Hungary took bronze.

Raven Saunders of the United States came in fifth.

Carter had the third longest distance (19.01 meters) of Friday morning's qualification to advance to the finals. Saunders was right behind her at fourth with a distance of 18.83 meters.

Felisha Johnson, a 27-year-old Indiana native, finished 14th in the qualification round to narrowly miss the final.

Carter finished 15th at the 2008 Olympic Games and fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games The 30-year-old California native and University of Texas alum holds the current American record shot put with a distance of 20.24 meters set at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.