Lewis, Carl

Lewis, Carl

▪ American athlete
in full  Frederick Carlton Lewis 
born July 1, 1961, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
 
 American track-and-field athlete, who won nine Olympic gold medals during the 1980s and '90s.

      Lewis qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 but did not compete, because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, Lewis won gold medals in the 100-metre (9.9 sec) and 200-metre (19.8 sec) races, in the long jump (8.54 metres [28.02 feet]), and as a member of the U.S. 4 × 100-metre relay team, which he anchored. Lewis became the third track-and-field athlete to win four gold medals in one Olympics, joining Americans Alvin Kraenzlein (Kraenzlein, Alvin) (1900) and Jesse Owens (Owens, Jesse), the latter of whom won the same four events at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin that Lewis won in Los Angeles.

      Lewis added two more gold medals and a silver medal at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, becoming the first Olympic athlete to win consecutive long-jump (long jump) gold medals, with a leap of 8.72 metres (28.61 feet). Lewis had the four best jumps in the competition, and his Olympic title was part of a long string of consecutive long-jump victories that extended over several years during the 1980s. Lewis's other gold medal at the 1988 Games came in the 100 metres (9.92 sec), after Canadian Ben Johnson, who had won in world-record time (9.79 sec), was disqualified three days later after testing positive for anabolic steroids. Lewis settled for a silver in the 200 metres.

      At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Lewis won two more gold medals, including his third consecutive long-jump title, with a leap of 8.67 metres (28.44 feet). Again anchoring the U.S. 4 × 100-metre relay team, Lewis won his eighth gold medal as the team set a world and Olympic record of 37.40 sec. At age 35 Lewis was a surprise qualifier in the long jump for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he “ran through” his first jump and notched a ho-hum 8.14 metres (26.71 feet) on his second leap. However, his last leap of 8.5 metres (27.89 feet), though well off any records or personal bests, held up as the top jump and earned Lewis his ninth gold medal. In 1997 he retired from competition.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • LEWIS (CARL) — LEWIS CARL (1961 ) Originaire de l’Alabama, Carl Lewis est un personnage hors du commun dans le monde du sport. Leader du Santa Monica Track Club, il a donné l’impulsion nécessaire à la professionnalisation officielle de l’athlétisme et s’est… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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  • Lewis,Carl — Lew·is (lo͞oʹĭs), Carl. Born 1961. American athlete. Winner of nine Olympic gold medals, including four in the long jump, he duplicated in the 1984 Olympics Jesse Owens s feat of winning the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, the long jump, and… …   Universalium

  • Lewis, Carl — ► (n. 1961) Atleta estadounidense. Ganó 4 medallas de oro en los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles (1984): en 100 m, 200 m, salto de longitud y 4 ê 100 m. En los de Barcelona (1992) ganó el oro en salto de longitud y 4 x 100 m y en los de Atlanta… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Lewis — puede referirse a: Contenido 1 Nombre 1.1 Personajes con el nombre Lewis 2 Apellido 2.1 Personajes con el apellido Lewis …   Wikipedia Español

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  • Lewis (Vorname) — Lewis ist ein vor allem im angelsächsischen Raum verbreiteter Vorname. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Variante des französischen Vornamens Louis, welcher wiederum vom althochdeutschen/fränkischen Vornamen Hluthwig (Ludwig) abgeleitet wurde.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Carl Lewis — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lewis. Carl Lewis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carl Lewis — Infobox runner runnername = Carl Lewis imagesize = 175px caption = Carl Lewis fullname = Frederick Carlton Lewis nicknames = Carl Lewis nationality = USA distance(s) = 100m, 200m club = collegeteam = birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1961|7|1 …   Wikipedia

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