The Greatest Athlete of our times... Review on Carl Lewis

Born in 1961 at Alabama, USA, Carlton Frederick Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals during the 1980s and 90s, all of them in some of the most challenging, disrupting and difficult events of all sports, the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and the 4x100m relay. Lewis' parents were both track coaches and he grew up with three brothers and sisters, all of whom for years considered Carl as the least impressive athlete in the family.

Whilst still a puny youngster of 12, he was introduced by his father to the legendary Jesse Owens who became his source of inspiration. Small for his age and shy, Lewis sprouted so suddenly at 15 (2.5 inches in a month) that he had to walk with crutches for three weeks while his body adjusted. As a high school senior, his 26feet 8 inches leap broke the national high school long-jump record.

He enrolled in Houston University in 1979 and began to be coached by Tom Tellez who was soon to say of Lewis: ''He had a brain like a computer and mastered all the essentials of sprinting and the long jump.'' His long reign began after being denied his first Olympic experience by the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

The world first took notice of Lewis in 1983 at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland where he won the gold medals in 100m, long jump and 4x100m relay...a legend had arrived. At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, Lewis won 4 gold medals in the 100 metres (9.90 sec) and 200-metre (19.80 sec), the long jump (8.54 m [28 feet 1/4 inches]), and the 4x100-metre relay, where he anchored the U.S. team, beating the world record. This gave Lewis the distinction of being only the third track-and-field athlete to win four gold medals in one Olympics, joining Americans Al Kraenzlein (1900) and Jesse Owens, the latter of whom won the same four events at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Such was the talent of Carl Lewis that he is ranked by his admirers and critics as one of the finest runners who ever lived, despite the fact that running was not even his primary athletic talent. Apart from winning four successive Olympic gold medals in the long jump, he also revolutionized sprinting worldwide, ushering in a new era in which sub 10 second 100 meter times and sub 20-second 200s became routine.

In 1987 in Rome for the World Championships, he conquered 3 gold medals, winning the 100m, long jump and 4x100m relay. An interesting incident needs to be mentioned here...Around the same time (just after the world championships), his father, who played a major role in grooming Lewis, died of cancer. Lewis put his gold medal from the 100m in Los Angeles in his father’s hand in the coffin and said ''I want you to have it because it was your favorite event''. When he saw his mother wear a surprised look, he told her: ''Don't worry, I'll win another one!'' And boy, was there some melodrama in the way did he did it!

The 100 meters sprint at the 1988 Games (Seoul) was a hotly contested one with the whole world eagerly awaiting the much awaited clash between the defending Olympic champion and a hot new challenger on the circuit, Ben Johnson of Canada. It was a nailbiting finale with Ben Johnson amazing the world by not only beating Carl Lewis and winning the gold medal but with an awesome record timing of 9.79 sec, the fastest time ever run by an human for that distance! Destiny, however had other plans for Carl Lewis when Ben Johnson was found guilty of taking banned performance boosting anabolic steroids and was stripped of his gold medal three days after the sensational race. Carl thus got to redeem the promise he made to his mother.

It was the lifetime ambition of Lewis to be the world record holder in the long jump, which, till then was in the name of Bob Beamon. He came closest to the record in Tokyo at the 1991 World Championships, dueling with Mike Powell in the long jump of the century. Lewis opened up that competition at 28-5.75 feet, which looked like pure gold. He improved it to a wind-aided 28-11.75 feet in round three, and an even windier 29-2.75 feet on his next attempt. Mike Powell then produced the jump of the century when he flew out to 29-4.5 feet , breaking Beamon's monolithic record by a centimeter. This was his first loss in long jump in 10 years and 65 meets.

By the time the 1992 edition of the Olympics (Barcelona, Spain) came around, Lewis’s career was on a decline and his chances of winning another 3 gold medals to equal the all time Olympic record of 9 golds (held by long distance runner Paavo Nurmi) looked remote. At the Olympic Trials in New Orleans, Lewis had finished sixth in the 100. At 200, he finished fourth, just 0.01 away from a team berth. He would compete only in the long jump and relay at the Games.

The long jump final saw Lewis get revenge over Powell in their second meeting since Powell took the World Record in Tokyo the previous year. He popped a first-round 28-5.5 feet. Powell struggled in second and on his last attempt came close, missing by three centimeters. The relay final came two days later and Lewis capped the best performance in history. Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell joined him for a World record 37.40 seconds.

At the 1996 Olympics, Lewis bowed out of his running career. Age seemed to have finally caught up with King Carl and he did not qualify for any of the sprints at the trials. His pet event, the long jump however came to his rescue and ensured that his name stood at the top of the All time Olympic Legends list. Lewis performed like a champion, winning the long jump gold without breaking too much sweat. He won his fourth gold in a row in the long jump, none before him had even won it twice!

In 1997 he finally decided to retire from athletics. In a career spanning more than 15 years, His final tally of medals and records speak for themselves...9 golds and 1 silver at the Olympics, 8 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze at the World Championships, 11 world records and 16 American records...Phew!!! quite an impressive record. The influence of his achievements in the sport has gone far beyond what might show up in any summary of his results. He maintained a very low profile throughout his career...no wise quotes, no hi profile endorsements, no string of affairs...nah..they were just not his cup of tea preferring, instead to let his deeds on the track and field do the talking for him.