MSU Professor Sue Carter’s mom is proud of her children.
And she acted on that pride when she nominated all three of them to carry the Olympic torch for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games in 2002.
And two of them made it.
“I am very proud of what my girls do,” said Jane Carter, mother of Sue, Carol and Tom. “I am proud of all three of my kids.”
And she should be proud.
Last year, Sue Carter, an associate professor of journalism and new secretary to the MSU Board of Trustees, organized the first all-female expedition to the North Pole. The group of 12 women filmed a documentary and provided curriculum for school classrooms while on the journey. Sue Carter, currently working on a book about her expedition, will carry the torch Jan. 6 in Lansing.
Her sister, Carol Carter of Portage, Mich., will carry it Jan. 3 through Indiana. Their treks will each last one-fifth of a mile.
The 65-day relay is sponsored by Coca-Cola Company and Chevrolet, Inc., and will travel 13,500 miles across the country via train, ski ship, snowmobile and other methods. Only 11,500 people were chosen nationwide.
Runners have the option of purchasing the torch before their run, and Jane Carter decided to buy them as a keepsake for her daughters.
Both were excited to find out they had been chosen.
“Sue called me first,” Jane Carter said. “She had a catch in her voice. She said ‘Oh Mom, I made it, thank you.’ I was thrilled. Then I thought about Carol, and she called me a half-hour later.
“I told them I was there in the beginning, and I would be there in the end.”
Sue Carter said she was honored to have been nominated by her mother.
“That’s pretty special. To have been selected is a real honor,” she said. “So many of us have a fascination with the Olympics. This is as close as I’ll ever get, and I am excited.”
Carol Carter said she had mixed emotions when she was notified that she was carrying the torch.
“I felt joy and shock,” she said. “Just a sense of wonderment at being a part of the Olympics, even if it’s a tiny part.”
Carol Carter said the packaging of the document informing her she had won also puzzled her.
“I couldn’t imagine who would send me an airborne express letter,” she said. “Mom had mentioned it last spring and I forgot about it. They couldn’t say for sure I had been picked because you had to send back forms and things. But I couldn’t believe it was true until I saw my name on the Web site.”
Although Carol Carter is nervous about the run, she decided to prepare herself for the event.
“I am not an athlete, my sister is,” she said. “I am training every day. I take this so seriously. The torch is made of glass, silver and copper. It’s like a work of art. I don’t want to drop it.”
Carol said she and her sister have been contacting each other to discuss their relay.
“We share news back and forth about it,” she said. “It’s like having a buddy. I have tried to contact people in my area so I can meet them and maybe we can train together.”
