Why Carl Lewis' Opinion Matters
Carl Lewis knows a thing or two about track and field. The man cleaned up at the LA Olympic Games in 1984. Regardless of the Soviet Union and 14 of its allies boycotting participation, it would have taken one helluva Ivan Drago type of athlete to keep up with Lewis' 9.99-second time to grab gold in the 100m. Back in the 80s, getting under ten seconds was a stellar time.
More Olympics: Final World Medal Tracker
Lewis added 200m gold with a time of 19.8 seconds, an Olympic record and the third-fastest mark ever at the time. He capped his breakout Hollywood showing by topping the podium in the long jump and running anchor in the 4x100m relay, where the USA set the new world record at 37.83 seconds.
The American legend kept it going four years later in Seoul. Lewis' long jump gold was immediate, while his top spot in the 100m came after Canadian Ben Johnson tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Johnson's 9.79 seconds was the new world record for a short few days until the scandal broke. Lewis's second-place time of 9.92, a 1988 American record, moved him from silver to gold.
Lewis' star would start fading as the Americans stepped toward the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Although he failed to qualify for the 100m and 200m, he again won the long jump. Anchoring a world record 4x100m relay team that hit 37.40 seconds, a time that stood for 16 years, just strengthened his relay resume. His 9.85 seconds time on the final stretch was the fastest officially recorded last leg at the time.
