NEW YORK – Carmelita Jeter is running towards the sunset.
 
A Cal State Dominguez Hills standout but known to the world as the fastest woman alive, Jeter announced her retirement from track & field to those in attendance at the USATF Black Tie and Sneakers Gala Thursday.
 
After finishing college in 2003, Jeter embarked on a career that has seen her rise to the ranks of all-time great American sprinters. The biggest moment of her career was in 2012, when she anchored the U.S. 4x100m relay, joining Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and Bianca Knight for gold in a world-record time of 40.82 seconds at the London Games. Jeter also won silver in the 100m dash and bronze in the 200m.
 
In 2011, she was the IAAF World Champion at 100 meters and in the 4×100 relay, the same year she won the USATF Jesse Owens Award. She has four times been a USATF Champion.
 
Before she was winning Olympic, IAAF and USATF medals, she was a decorated athlete at Cal State Dominguez Hills. She finished NCAA runner-up three times at 100 meters, was a six-time first-team All-American and won seven total CCAA Championships. She still holds five CSUDH records and, with her six All-America awards, shares the honor of being the most decorated female athlete in the history of the department.

Jeter is an inaugural member of the CCAA Hall of Fame in 2014 and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Athlete Hall of Fame in 2016.

In November 2012, Jeter was honored by the University on "Carmelita Jeter Day" for her accomplishments on the track and for bringing Cal State Dominguez Hills to the worldwide forefront during the Olympic Games.  Jeter is the first-ever CSUDH athlete to compete in any Olympiad, and also began an annual scholarship fund at her alma mater.
 
Even with all the accomplishments she made in her career, Jeter said at the Gala she will miss one thing.
 
"I am going to miss when they say, 'Carmelita Jeter, lane five,' and everyone screams,' she said.
 
Jeter had returned to her roots at CSUDH last year by joining head coach Warren Edmonson's staff as an assistant coach.