Olympic heroes, No 15: Carl Lewis

Published on 05/07/2012 00:00

ONE of the most remarkable of all Olympians, the man from Alabama won ten Olympic medals, including nine golds, as well as ten World Championships medals – eight of which were golds.

His career spanned from 1979, when he first achieved a world ranking, to 1996, when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. He was voted Sportsman of the Century by the International Olympic Committee, and competed successfully as a world-class 100m and 200m sprinter as well as a long jumper.

At one point in 1981 his best- ever jump was second only to that of then legendary world record holder Bob Beamon. Such a successful spread of disciplines drew inevitable comparisons with Jesse Owens and he matched his fellow American’s achievements at the 1936 Berlin Olympics with a haul of four golds at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. When he retired from track and field, he took work as an actor.