Carl Lewis
(Carlton Frederick Lewis; Birmingham, USA, 1961) American athlete, one of the legendary figures in the history of athletics.At just nineteen, he was already on the US Olympic team, but his country's boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 prevented him from competing.He made his debut as an Olympian in the Los Angeles Games (1984), in which he won four gold medals: in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, in the long jump and in the 4-percent relay.In doing so, he managed to match Jesse's mythical record.Owens at the Berlin Games (1936).
Carl Lewis at the Los Angeles Olympics (1984)
In the following two games in which he participated (Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992), he managed to expand his medal table.In the first, in addition to becoming the first athlete to win the long jump competition in two consecutive games, he starred in a controversial victory in the 100 meter sprint, a test in which he was a gold medal despite having crossed the finish line in second Second, as the winner, Canadian athlete Ben Johnson, was disqualified following the results of the subsequent anti-doping test, which revealed that he had used steroids.
In 1991 he set the world record in the 100 meter sprint with a mark of 9.86 seconds.In Barcelona 1992 he renewed his title in longitude, a discipline of which he had established himself as the maximum dominator during the 1980s, and was once again gold in relays.In the Atlanta Games (1996) he failed to qualify for times in the speed tests, and he could not be part of the American relay team, in a controversial decision.However, he won again in length (his ninth Olympic gold).
Cold and calculating athlete, he failed to break Bob Beamon's legendary record in the long jump (8.90 meters) before Mike Powell did it in 1991.Still, by 1982 he had overcome a distance of 9.14 meters in a jump that was null by a very slim margin.
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