The Carl Lewis Era And His Records
One of the oldest sports in the history of the world is track and field. Competitions played during Olympic events today were literally being played over a thousand years ago. Possibly the greatest athlete to ever participate in track and field is Carl Lewis of the United States.
Carl Lewis competed in various track and field events for over a 15 year period, which culminated with his retirement in 1997. During that time he participated including sprints, long jumps, and relays. During the course of his career, Lewis broke several records.
During the early 1980s Carl Lewis broke world records in the 100 meter sprint, the 4×100 meter sprint relay, and the 4×200 meter sprint relay. His best 100 meter time ever recorded was 9.86 seconds. This record has since been broken. Lewis also broke the world long jump record and still owns the record today, which is 29 feet and 1.25 inches. In his prime Lewis went a record 10 years without being defeated in a long jump competition.
Lewis’s main achievement may be the amount of medals that he won during the Olympics. Lewis participated in the 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympics. In total he won 11 Olympic medals, of which 10 were gold and 1 was silver.