Even after her success last year, perhaps only the more serious track and field fans know about Carmelita Jeter. Know, for example, that her name is pronounced JET-UR, as in jet-fast, rather than JEET-UR, like the Yankees shortstop.

Know that she’s 28, and lives in Los Angeles, and that upon graduation from Cal State Dominguez Hills, after a strong Division II career and with a degree in kinesiology, she didn’t find immediate fame, like so many sprinters do, just frustration.

She kept injuring her right hamstring, severely. She ran slower in 2004, her first year out of college, than as a senior. She missed the 2005 season with injury, and ran only small domestic meets in 2006.