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He
didn't lose in the long jump for a
decade, winning 65 consecutive
competitions. He won four gold
medals at the 1984 Olympics,
equaling the 1936 accomplishment of
his hero, Jesse Owens. He sped to a
world record in the 100 meters. And
then, when it appeared to be time
for him to leave the jumping to
younger athletes, he fooled us...>>>
Book Carl Lewis for Your Event
That
unexpected and stunning victory gave
Lewis his ninth Olympic gold medal,
tying him for the largest gold
collection with U.S. swimmer Mark
Spitz, Finnish long-distance runner
Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast
Larysa Latynina.
That lack of humility never made up
for Lewis being handsome and
articulate, of having stayed clean
in a dirty sport, of being a
crusader against steroid use. Lewis,
like Frank Sinatra, did it his way.
But unlike Sinatra, he didn't have
the charm to go with the talent.
The 6-foot-2, 173-pound Lewis had
even grander plans for the 1984
Olympics: four gold medals. First
came the 100 meters. With a burst
that was clocked at 28 mph at the
finish, Lewis won by an incredible
eight feet -- the biggest margin in
Olympic history -- in 9.9 seconds.
Lewis captured the long jump with
his first leap -- 28-¼ into the
wind. After fouling on his second
attempt, Lewis, who had six races
behind him and five more to go,
passed on his last four jumps. The
fans in Los Angeles didn't care
about his heavy schedule; they booed
him for not challenging Beamon's
record.
Lewis won the 200 in a then-Olympic
record 19.80 seconds and completed
his quest by running a 8.94 anchor
leg on the victorious 4x100 relay
team. The 1991 World Championships
in Tokyo were quite incredible -- in
both the 100 meters and long jump.
Lewis won one and lost the other. In
the 100, six runners broke 10
seconds, with Lewis leading the pack
after a mighty finish. "He passed us
like we were standing still," said
runner-up Leroy Burrell.
For the first time in his life,
after going undefeated in the long
jump for a decade, after winning six
Olympic gold medals, Lewis had at
last set an untainted, unshared
world record (since broken) with his
9.86 seconds. "The best race of my
life," Lewis said. "The best
technique, the fastest. And I did it
at 30."
At
the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona,
Lewis exacted revenge on Powell, who
had the record that Lewis craved,
when he edged him by 1¼ inches with
a leap of 28-5½. Lewis won his
eighth gold medal by anchoring the
record-setting 4x100 relay team.
But eight wasn't enough for him.
Lewis, who qualified third in the
1996 Olympic Trials in the long
jump, showed he still had one huge
leap left in him. His 27-10¾ at
Atlanta was his longest jump at sea
level in four years.
>>>
Book Carl Lewis for Your Event
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