Zoo Names Cheetahs After Olympic Winners - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.

The National Zoo in Washington DC is home to some the world’s most beautiful animals. Among the most adorable is the duo of 3-month-old cheetah cubs that are getting a lot of public attention. Earlier in July, the zoo announced that they would name the cubs after the fastest American male and female 100-meter dash sprinters in the 2012 Olympics. The names are in, the baby cheetahs will be called Justin and Carmelita. Over this past weekend, Justin Gatlin ran the 100-meter sprint in 9.79 seconds and the day before Carmelita Jeter ran the 100-meter sprint in 10.78 seconds. Cheetahs are widely known as the fastest land animal on earth, reaching speeds upwards of 60 miles per hour.

Earlier this August, a cheetah, named Sarah from the Cincinnati Zoo, made news headlines after beating her old speed record. The zoo website states “Sarah shattered all 100-meter times when she posted 5.95 seconds.”