Carl Lewis

Athlete

• Born: July 1, 1961
• Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama

Track-and-field athlete

A track-and-field star, Lewis specialized in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the long jump, setting numerous records. His ascendance in the sport brought it to widespread attention, especially in the United States.

Areas of achievement: Sports: Olympics; Sports: track and field

Early Life

Frederick Carlton Lewis was born to William and Evelyn Lewis in Birmingham, Alabama, the third of four children. Carl Lewis came from an athletic family; both of his parents had been track-and-field competitors at the Tuskegee Institute. His mother had represented the United States in the Pan-American Games in the hurdles event. The family moved to Willingboro, New Jersey, when Lewis was young, and his parents worked as high school teachers and track-and-field coaches.

Initially, Lewis failed to show promise as an athlete, and his parents encouraged him to pursue music instead. Rather than following the advice of his parents, Lewis became motivated to prove them wrong. He began to spend more time at the track, hoping to improve his sprinting and long-jump skills. He focused his early attention on the long jump, practicing continually in his backyard. By the time he reached his junior year at Willingboro High School, Lewis was recognized throughout the state of New Jersey for his long-jump skills. By the time he was a senior, he had risen to be one of the best long jumpers in the world.

Life’s Work

With a promising track-and-field career on the horizon, Lewis was offered scholarships to a number of colleges; he chose the University of Houston. His coach, Tom Tellez, continued to help Lewis develop his long-jump skills and pushed him to become a distinguished sprinter. By the end of his first year at college, Lewis had attained a world ranking in Track and Field News, which was the authority on the sport at the time. With the Moscow Olympic Games coming, Lewis made the team for the long jump and 4x100-meter relay events. However, the United States and a number of other countries boycotted the Games; instead, Lewis competed in the Liberty Bell Classic, an alternate meet for those countries that did not participate in the Games. Lewis placed third in the long jump and won gold in the relay.

The following year, Lewis cemented his status as one of the best track-and-field athletes in the world. He became the second-best long jumper of all time and was ranked as the number one long jumper. The event in which he showed the most improvement was the 100-meter sprint. Although his past performance had been modest, under Tellez’s tutelage Lewis raced his way into being the fastest 100-meter sprinter in the world. The ability to compete at such a high level in the long jump and the sprint brought comparisons of Lewis to Jesse Owens, lofty company for Lewis.

In 1982, Lewis continued his dominance in both the long jump and the 100 meters, again finishing number one in both. However, Lewis also began to show promise in the 200-meter distance and finished number six. In 1983, the International Association of Athletics Federations held the world championships, which had more participants than the previous two Olympic Games and allowed Lewis to compete against the best in the world. Again he shone, taking the gold in the long jump, 100 meters, and 4-by-100-meter relay, helping to set a world record in the event.

The 1984 Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles, California, established Lewis as a household name in the United States. While he had gained renown throughout much of the world, track-and-field athletes had failed to garner the same kind of fame in America. With bold talk of equaling Owens’s record of four gold medals, Lewis backed it up by finishing first in the long jump,100 meters, 200 meters, and 4-by-100-meter relay. Americans knew his name, but he was more popular outside the United States.

Through much of the rest of the decade, Lewis proceeded to be the man to beat, at both the Olympics and other track meets. Challenges came in the form of Canadian Ben Johnson and American Mike Powell, and while they beat him at times, Lewis was still the front-runner. By the time the 1992 Olympic Games arrived, Lewis was no longer the sprinter he had been, but he still was a prominent long jumper, and he made the team for that event. Moreover, he did it again for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. It was in Atlanta that Lewis finally received the acceptance from the US fans that he had long sought. He won the gold in the long jump at the Games to close out his career in which he won ten Olympic medals, nine of which were gold, and ten World Championship medals, eight of which were gold.

In 1988, Lewis tested positive three times for banned substances during the 1988 Olympic Trials for the Seoul, Korea, Games. Lewis said he took the substances inadvertently and following the analysis of supplements Lewis was taking at the time, the Olympic Committee accepted his claim and he was allowed to compete in the Games.

Lewis attempted a run for a US Senate seat in the state of New Jersey in April 2011. He withdrew his name from the race a few months later after the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey ruled that Lewis did not qualify as a candidate since he did not meet the minimum requirement of residency in the state for at least four consecutive years.

In 2015, Lewis started coaching track and field as a full-time assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston, under head coach and former rival, Leroy Burrell. Burrell had edged out Lewis to win gold in the 100 meter sprint at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, Washington.

Significance

Lewis was one of the best track-and-field athletes to compete. His dominance in multiple events was a testament to his abilities, and at times he has been compared to Owens. Since retiring from sports, he has appeared in films and television shows and become a celebrity figure. He distanced himself from track and field when he retired, but he has remained a well-regarded athletic figure in American culture.

Bibliography

Goldberg, Barbara, and Jerry Norton. "Olympian Carl Lewis Quits State Senate Race in New Jersey." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

Klots, Steve. Carl Lewis. New York: Chelsea House, 1995. Print.

Layden, Tim. “Carl Lewis: Dramatic Sequel.” Sports Illustrated 105.1 (3 July 2006): 116. Print.

Lewis, Carl, and Jeffrey Marx. Inside Track: My Professional Life in Amateur Track and Field. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. Print.

Lewis, Carl, and Jeffrey Marx. One More Victory Lap: “My Personal Diary of an Olympic Year.” Santa Monica: Athletics International, 1996. Print.

Mackay, Duncan. "Lewis: Who Cares I Failed Drug Test?" Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 Apr. 2003. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

Mohank, K. P., and P. Mohan. "This Idol Has Feet of Clay, After All." Sportstar. The Sportstar, May 2003. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

Pye, Steven. "Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, and the Drama of the Dirtiest Race in History." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.