Olympic track and field champion Frederick Carlton Lewis (aka Carl Lewis) was born in Birmingham, Alabama on July 1, 1961. Lewis grew up in a household surrounded by talented athletes. His mother, Evelyn Lawler, competed in the 80-meter hurdles at the 1951 Pan American Games, where she finished in 6th place representing the United States.
Lewis’s younger sister, Carol, was also a track and field star who specialized in the long jump. Carol went on to win Bronze in both the 1983 World Championships and the 1985 IAAF World Cup.
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Early Life
When Carl Lewis was young, he moved to Willingboro Township; in 1969, his mother and father, William Lewis, started the Willingboro Track Club to get local youth interested in athletics. The club made a huge impact on Lewis, and by the age of 13, he began competing in the long jump. He then took his talents to Willingboro High School a couple years later, where he was ranked fourth on the all-time World Junior list of long jumpers.
With his talents highly evident, Lewis had a plethora of colleges to choose from as a young man; however, he set his sights on the University of Houston. In college, he focused on his long jump, but his fast sprinting ability was equally undeniable. In 1980, Lewis qualified for that year’s Olympics both in the long jump and as a member of the 4 x 100-meter relay team. Since the United States boycotted the Olympics that year – it was held in Moscow, Russia – Lewis instead competed in the Liberty Bell Classic, where he won Bronze in the long jump and Gold in the relay.
Accomplishments
Lewis went on to be a nationally ranked track and field athlete for the next 16 years; winning a total of 22 Gold medals, three Silver medals and three Bronze medals across many competitions. Nine of those Gold medals were in the Olympic Games alone.
Carl Lewis officially retired from track and field in 1997, but not without taking a number of accolades with him. To this day, Lewis is still the only man to defend his Olympic long jump title. He also jumped 14 of the 20 furthest “valid” jumps of all time. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee voted him “Sportsman of the Century;” the International Association of Athletics Federations voted him “World Athlete of the Century;” and Sports Illustrated named him “Olympian of the Century” as well. The following year, the University of Houston named the Carl Lewis International Complex after him; as a way to respect and honor the renowned Olympic champion who once studied there.
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Hero (Top) Feature Image: © Manfred Werner / Wikimedia Commons
Additional Images (in Order) Courtesy:
Manfred Werner / Wikimedia Commons
