Carl Lewis: Athletics
Fredrick Carlton Lewis, popularly known as Carl Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a former American track and field athlete from Birmingham, Alabama. In 1980, he qualified for the Olympics but did not partake in the event due to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. At the age of 13, he began to compete in the long jump competition in his hometown in Willingboro Township, New Jersey. By his senior year, he was one of the top long jumpers in the world, setting up a new national prep record. He was recruited by the University of Houston in 1981 where he continued to set track and field marks and by 1981, he became the top American amateur athlete after being the second person in NCAA history to win the 100 meters and long jump at college championships.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Carl Lewis competed in four Olympic Games and won nine gold medals including four medals at the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, California. He is known to be the only man to defend an Olympic long jump title successfully.
Some of his best performances include – 100 m ; 9.86 seconds from August 1991 in Tokyo – 200 m ; 19.75 seconds from June 1983 in Indianapolis and Long Jump ; 8.87 meters (29 ft ¼ in) in 1991.
Why Was He So Good?
Carl Lewis strived to be the best. He believed that by setting goals, it was the only way he could get where he wanted to go.
What You May Not Know
- Carl Lewis started training under the guidance and support of his father at their family-owned athletics club.
- He was never embraced by the country, has never become a sports ambassador since he came across as arrogant, aloof and cold towards others. An fellow athlete said that Lewis lacked humility.
- When Carl Lewis was competing, he never got to see other sports. Now that he’s retired, he picks two sports to go to during the Olympics to watch and learn more about them. So far, he’d seen volleyball, tennis, rowing and more but his favorites are short-track speed skating, table tennis and badminton.
Related Pages
- More from athletics
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of athletics
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