Carl Lewis

Born on: July 1, 1961

Born in: Birmingham, Alabama

Nationality: American

Career: Track And Field Athlete

 

Carl Lewis is a retired American track and field athlete, who is acclaimed of winning 10 Olympic medals, including 9 gold and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. Lewis amused the sports fans frequently as he was a dominant sprinter and long jumper, who often topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events. He was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News thrice and even set world records in the 100 m, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays. He is still the current world record holder for long jump indoor. Moreover, his 65 consecutive victories in the long jump achieved over a span of 10 years is one of the sport’s longest undefeated streaks. Carl Lewis currently lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing an acting career.

 

Carl Lewis was born as Fredrick Carlton Lewis on July 1, 1961 in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1963, his family moved to Willingboro, New Jersey, near Camden. He grew up in Willingboro, which was a quiet yet racially diverse town. Track became an integral part of Carl, since he was very young. His parents William McKinley Lewis Jr. and Evelyn Lawler both were athletes and teachers at high school. They started the Willingboro Track Club for girls, as there were no track programs for girls in public schools.

 

In dearth of a babysitter, his parents would place Carl with younger sister Carol in the long jump pit to play. The club soon allowed boys, and that is where Lewis started his track career. Though he was not a promising athlete in the beginning as compared to his elder brothers and sister, his parents consistently encouraged him, telling stories of Jesse Owens, the former track star. At the age of nine, Carl met Owens in a youth track meet, where the latter encouraged him for his career.

 

At the age of thirteen, while Carl was in Wilingboro High School, he started participating in long jump and emerged to be a budding athletic star. This is attributed to the fact that as a junior, he was one of the top long jumpers in New Jersey and by his senior year he was one of the top long jumpers in the world. In 1979, Lewis broke the high school long jump record with a leap of 8.13 m. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Houston, where Tom Tellez was his coach.

 

By the end of the year 1979, Carl achieved his world ranking as 5^th in the world in long jump. He even qualified for the American team for the 1980 Olympics in the long jump and as a member of the 4 x 100 m relay team. At year’s end, Lewis was ranked 6^th in the world in the long jump and 7^th in the 100 m. During the year 1981, he emerged as a dominant sprinter and long jumper. He won his first of six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles for the University of Houston and his first national titles in the 100 m and long jump. Owing to his dominating performance in both track and field event, comparisons started to be made to Jesse Owens.

 

By mid 1981, Lewis improved his high school personal best by leaping 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in) at the TAC Championships, while still a teenager. With this, he sealed himself as the number two long jumper in history, behind Bob Beamon and holder of the low-altitude record. In the same year, he also became the fastest sprinter in the world. For the first time, Lewis was ranked number one in the world, in both the 100 m and the long jump. Moreover, he also won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. The success story continued for the year 1982, as he was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News and was recognized as a superstar in the sport.

 

In 1983, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the governing body of track and field, organized a World Championships for the first time. Proving his mettle yet once again, Carl won in long jump with a leap of 8.55 m, defeating silver medalist, Jason Grimes by 26 cm. He also ran the anchor in the 4 x 100 m relay, timing 37.86 s, setting a new world record and for the first time in Lewis’ career.

 

In the same year, he was ranked number one in the world due to his gold at the World Championships and his other fast times earned. He set a new low-altitude record in the long jump at the TAC Championships with 8.79 m and earned the world number one ranking in the event and a number two ranking in the 200 m. Still, Lewis grabbed the ultimate honor of the year by being Athlete of the Year. Thus, Lewis proved himself in Helsinki and set eyes on the Olympic Games.

 

By 1984, Lewis became a sports celebrity and proved it in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as well. Here, for the first time he expressed his desire to equal Jess Owens by winning four medals in Olympics and to the world amazement, he did it. Lewis won in the 100 m, running 9.99 s. In the long jump, he won with relative ease. His third gold medal came in the 200 m, where he set a new Olympic record of 19.80 s. Finally, he won his fourth gold in the 4 x 100 m relay by finishing in a time of 37.83 s, which was yet another world record. At year’s end, Lewis was awarded top rank in the 100 m and the long jump and was additionally ranked number one in the 200 m. Also, consecutively for the third year, he was awarded the Athlete of the Year title.

 

In 1987, World Championships in Athletics was held in Rome. To focus on his strongest event, the long jump, Lewis skipped the 200 m. Subsequently, in long jump, Lewis won with a mark of 8.67 m, clearing 8.60 m fourth time. In the 4 x 100 m relay, Lewis bagged the gold - medal timing 37.90 s, which was the third - fastest of all time. However, in the 100m, Lewis was defeated by Johnson and stood second with 9.93 s.

 

In 1987, Lewis lost his father and placed his gold meal won at 100 m in 1984 to be buried along with him. With this, he aspired to win the same in 1988 Olympics. Due to the year long grudge between Lewis and Johnson, the 100 m final at the 1988 Olympics became one of the most hyped events of the season. Though Lewis desperately wished to win, at the end of the event Johnson emerged out as the winner with 9.79 s, a new world record while Lewis set a new American record with a clocking of 9.92 s and stood second. However, three days later, Johnson tested positive for steroids and Lewis was awarded gold, along with his time being recognized as the new Olympic record.

 

In 1991, World Championships was held in Tokyo. In the 100 m final, Lewis not only defeated his opponents, he reclaimed the world record with a clocking of 9.86 s. Moreover, in the 4 x100 m, he led the relay team to another world record, 37.50 s. The long jump final at the same championships is considered to be one of greatest competitions ever in sport history. Despite beating Bob Beamon’s legendary world record of 8.90 m by 8.91 m, Lewis lost the even to Powell, who scored 8.95 m, setting a new world record. However, for his outstanding results, he earned the ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.

 

The sports career of Lewis started a downslide after 1991. For the 1992 Olympics, he could not even qualify for the 100 m and 200 m events. However, he did manage to qualify for the long jump, finishing second behind Powell and also for the 4 x 100 m relay team. The 1992 Olympics were held in Barcelona, where Lewis leapt 8.67 m in the long jump, beating Powell, who finished at 8.64 m. In the 4 x 100 m relay, Lewis set yet another world record of 37.40 s, which has not yet beaten. He even covered the final leg in 8.85 seconds, the fastest officially recorded anchor leg in history.

 

Lewis managed to qualify for American Olympic team for the fifth time in the long jump, the only American man to do so. In 1996, Olympics were held at Atlanta, where he won the long jump event by a leap of 8.50 m. However, he was not included in the relay team. Subsequently, Lewis retired from the sport in 1997. In the year 1999, he was voted "Sportsman of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee, elected "World Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations and also named "Olympian of the Century" by the American sports magazine Sports Illustrated. Currently, Lewis is pursuing an acting career. He has appeared in cameos in Perfect Strangers, Speed Zone and Material Girls.

1982 - 1984 – Men’s Track and Athlete of The Year

1983 - United Press International Athlete of the Year

1984 - United Press International Athlete of the Year

1981 - 1985 - Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance

1983 - 1984 - Men's 200m Best Year Performance

1987 - Men's 200m Best Year Performance

1988 - Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance

1992 - Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance