By The Foundation for a Better Life

Long before he was a household name in the NFL, Michael Carter was a track and field prodigy. It’s remarkable enough to become a pro in one discipline; very few attain those heights in two.

In 1979, while attending high school in Dallas, Carter set a high school record in the shot put with a staggering toss of 81 feet, 3 1/2 inches. That throw smashed the previous mark by more than 9 feet. More than four decades later, it still stands as the record. Carter went on to win four indoor and three outdoor NCAA championships.

As a two-sport athlete, Carter was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 1984 NFL Draft to play nose tackle. However, before he ever suited up for training camp, he had unfinished business in the shot put. The Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles that year, and Carter claimed silver.

Immediately after stepping off the Olympic podium, Carter traded his track spikes for football cleats. He joined Bill Walsh’s 49ers for the 1984 season. As a rookie nose tackle, Carter became the anchor of a formidable defensive line, starting in the middle and clogging running lanes for opposing offenses.

The 49ers tore through the season, finishing 15-1. On Jan. 20, 1985, only five months after standing on the Olympic podium, Carter and the 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX. Carter went on to play nine seasons, earning three Pro Bowl selections and three Super Bowl rings.

Decades later, his daughter, Michelle Carter, won gold in the shot put at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games — the only father and daughter to win Olympic medals in the same individual event.

You have to wonder what Carter would say to motivate his daughter at the dinner table. Probably the same thing his father said to him: “When I was a kid, my dad told me that anything I do, no matter if it is sports or school or anything, you have to do your best.”

The Foundation for a Better Life promotes positive values to live by and pass along to others. Go to PassItOn.com.