Yep! I was a sprinter in high school and college, and to this day, I credit watching Carl Lewis with helping me to fix my form and become a more efficient sprinter. I study his form for endless hours. He was beautiful to watch.
Carl Lewis is also the only athlete to retain an Olympic gold medal in the men’s long jump let alone win 4 consecutive Olympic titles in the event also he qualified for the boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics in the long jump as a teenager.
@@vincentvangogh8092 To be fair, his *singing* ability is actually good. The problem with the song is that it has all of the worst, most outdated elements of 80s pop.
Emile Zatopek....better than Lewis....He won the 5k...10K and the Marathon in the same Olympics....1952. And he had to run the 5K TWICE. Once to qualify for the finals. Also better than Lewis...Jim Thorpe.
Carl still holds the INDOOR World Record for the long jump, at a staggering 28 feet, 10 inches. This record was set on January 30th of 1984. In 7 more days (it will be 40 YEARS that this record has stood, unbroken.) Remember, if the United States had not boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Carl Lewis would have had FIVE Olympic Gold medals in the Long Jump. Think about that one for a moment, from the standpoint of longevity.
@@ChessMasterNate Lewis might possibly have won silver in 1980. His best legal jump to that point was 8.13 meters. That length jump would have tied for fourth in Moscow.
I‘m too young to have known him but my das was a huge fan. He often told me those incredible storys. Thanks to you for keeping up the memories to the great athletes and stories.
Thank you for a great summary of Carl Lewis achievements in the long jump. Please summarize his achievements in the 100m in a future vidoe. And he would probably have 5 long jump gold medals if the US would not have boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
Ivan Pedroso went on to win 4 consecutive WC LJ Golds in '95, '97, '99 & '01 as well as '00 Olympic Gold. The event has really missed fellow Cuban Long Jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría who jumped 8.66m & 8.68m at just 20yrs old (still only 25) but has been absent following his Silver Medal in the '21 Tokyo Olympic Final :(
@@khumokwezimashapa2245 🤞 Same with former Cuban now Spanish Triple Jumper Jordan Alejandro Díaz Fortun (17.87m PB). Wanna see him battle with the likes of Pichardo, Hibbert & Zango!
Not trying to disrespect Pedroso, as he was a beast and his accomplishments are amazing, but those are world championships held two years apart, meaning he was the man in the long jump from 1995 to 2001. Carl was Olympic Champ from 1984 to 1996, and he also qualified for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow that was boycotted by the U.S., so he very well could have won that too. Again, not disrespecting Pedroso. I love him, but no one will EVER touch Carl in the long jump.
Where I agree that Carl Lewis was indeed an amazing athlete winning medals in many events, I would still have to put Bob Beamon as the greatest long jumper just because his WR was insane.
I saw a documentary about Ben Johnson who was famously stripped of his 1988 100m gold for doping. Turns out the guy who run the doping tests kept all samples from that race, retested them using modern methods and the highest placed athlete who was not doped came 5th (Brazil's Robson Da Silva).
@@RinslerRR It also pointed out that the favoured doping method of the time had the side effect of loosening teeth meaning that anybody at the time wearing braces was most likely doping. There were a lot of athletes at the time who had straight teeth but suddenly wore braces for no apparent reason.
A victim of his own success. 3 x Gold Medals at the 83 World Championships, including a World Record 3 x Gold Medals at the 87 World Championships, including a World Record 3 x Medals at the 91 World Championships, including TWO World Records. 1 x medal at the 93 World Championships 4 x Gold Medals in the 84 Olympics, including a world record 3 x Medals at the 88 Olympics including a world record. 2 x Gold medals at the 92 Olympics, including a world record 1 x Gold medal at the 96 Olympics, including a Masters World Record. Imagine how good he woulda been at the Long Jump if he singled it out & specialised in it alone? Ive no doubt he woulda broken Beamons World Record a few times. Lewis was a mind blowingly good athlete, maybe the best of all time.
Carl gets a lot of shade thrown at him because he's his own worst enemy with his attitude and the BS he talks, but the truth is, he was a BEAST on the track. NO ONE will ever break (or even tie) his 4 long jump Olympic golds (and if the U.S. didn't boycott the 1980 Olympics, he may have won 5). He was world champ in the 100 from 1983 to 1991, and this was when it was only held every 4 years. 2 time Olympic Champ in the 100. Former world record holder in the 100. Olympic gold and silver in the 200. Anchored NUMEROUS world championship, Olympic championship, and world record 4x100 relay teams. And on top of all that, he had BEAUTIFUL form and was a joy to watch racing down the track. Dude was amazing! I just wish he had a slightly better attitude.
One of the biggest reasons of Lewis' continued success was his amazing combination natural jumping ability combined with his raw sprinting speed ... boosted with the amazing combination of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine.
It s funny for me because when americans talk about USSR or East Germany athletes of the 80s they always mention doping, but they dont do the same thing with their own athletes of that era like Carl Lewis or Mike Powell.
Carl Lewis is the best all time track and field athlete. Bolt might have had the fastest time ever but he was not the best overall track and field athlete ever and I still haven't seen a sprinter who ran as smooth and effortlessly as Carl Lewis. His running form was flawless.
@@SPIDERM0OSE But if we're talking athletics as a whole, Bolt's triple tremble is the most impressive achievement in the sport and one of the most impressive across all sports imo
There are so many interesting facets about Carl Lewis's athletic career. In the beginning coming out of HS, he was already a superb jumper but not a great sprinter. I think Coach Tellez would "coach him up" there to his eventual elite sprinter status. I believe he was a 10.5s in 100 meters, I've seen 9.3 for 100 yards but thought it was slower than that. So, of interest. It'd be Powell and not Lewis who finally overcame Beamon's giant longstanding LJ record from the '68 Olympics. And, one other giant misstep from Carl Lewis? In a preliminary round in a 200M race, he raised his arms and hands and glided in missing Pietro Minnea's longstanding 200M world record by ~ four hundredths of a second as I recall. Lewis's name will never appear in the 200M world record progression just like it doesn't in the Long Jump. Oh well! Oh! There was a long jump event at altitude, seems like it was in Denver one year, where Carl Lewis ever-so-slightly toe-fouled a jump that qualified viewers say looked to be a bit over 30 feet. So, Beamon was the great "statistical outlier" as he'd never even approach his monster 29+ footer again. Remember, when Beamon did that, no one had yet jumped 28 feet. Lewis had a longer period of success than Powell and all the other greats, better stats on big meet wins. Yes, he's the greatest long jumper of all time. Gotta say, that 200 race still bugs me.
A back completely covered in acne, a square jaw and a mouth full of braces.....please forgive my cynicsm. The guy was a pin cushion, as was the rest of the Santa Monica track club at the time. Growth hormones will do that to you. 🙄 lucky for him he wasn't Canadian
The funniest thing a reliable test for HGH wasn’t even developed till 2008 and even then the glow time of HGH is still pretty low In an era of zero Out of comp testing it’s hard to believe no dabbled in *nothing* considering you know when you were gonna be tested it’s all about timings You can say today athletes are doped but they have a whereabouts and random out of comp test to deal with at least so that self governs them more
I remember feeling relieved that he hadn't been on the 4x100 in 1996 because he would have been blamed for the loss. He was such a champion to still get the long jump gold.
WHAT A SUPRISE Thank you for SUCH A MOBILIZING FILM Even more so in these times when people forget about KING CARL KIND REGARDS and as usual, Masterpiece;
Prior to the 1984 LA Olympics, Carl Lewis and a film crew showed up to our high School track. We were starting our practice and delayed a little wanted to watch him, but he just ran in ‘slow mode’ for the cameras, so we carried on. He was amazing though, and we were very proud of him.
The Powell v Lewis battle when they *both* beat Beamon's record from 1968 is just surreal. The Beamon record seemed like a fluke of nature that beat the previous record by over half a meter. It would last forever. That Lewis beat Beamon's record of 23 years was a moment in history. That Powell then topped Lewis within minutes is the stuff of The Twilight Zone.
The fact that Powell had to break the world record to beat him is impressive, but add to that, the record stills stand over 30 years later…tells you just how good it was
Lewis broke his PB in his very next jump in response to Powells WR. In his final jump he broke his previous PB again. I think that says everything there is to be said about Lewis as a sportsman & competitor, he was next level.
Am I the only one that has a memory of him coming out sometime around 2000 and admitting he cheated? Maybe it was a dream or Mandela effect, but I feel like it was real.
BTW at the Olympic trials in 96, it took until Lewis' very last jump to make the team. I remember watching and the announcer saying this was it, this is his entire career. He goes past, I can't remember what it was, he goes to the Olympics, if he doesn't, he's done. Like, gee no pressure there. And he did it.
Mlitiadis Tentoglu, the only athlete who joined Carl Lewis as the only long jumper wih more than one Olympic Gold medals and he's only like 26 years old? WOW!!!!!! Back to back Gold Medals in the Olympics ans a ton of other Gold medals, to every event!!!
Thank you for this Vid. I've been boasting about Carl Lewis since 1989, at least. He won a Gold Medal in 5 consecutive Olympics. That kind of longevity says volumes. I'm proud that he's an American. Or that I am- same as he.
Hard to argue against calling him the greatest long jumper ever, great career summary here. Though the fact he never held the world record has to be underlined. Mike Powell's world record, now 32 years old, is the longest-standing world record ever in the men's long jump. As for those who suggest Lewis would have had five gold medals if not for the 1980 Olympic boycott, it has to be remembered he was still a teenager then, and only managed an 8.11 that year, while Lutz Dombroski won the Olympic title with an 8.54, the second-longest leap in history. The man who might have challenged Dombroski would have been Larry Myricks, the top American in the event back then, his 8.52 from the year before the first jump over 28 feet since Bob Beamon. If Lewis had matched his personal best that year, that still would have only got him 4th place in Moscow. However, if the Olympics had been held in 1981... he might have got that gold, as Lewis first showed us his greatness in the event, with an 8.62. (Subsequent edit, should have checked this first. Perhaps the closest thing to an Olympics in 1980 for Americans was the Liberty Bell Classic, attended by athletes from 29 countries, mostly Olympic boycott countries, in Philadelphia July 16 and 17. The men's long jump was one of the events, won by Myricks with an 8.20 jump. American Larry Doubley got silver with 7.95, and Carl Lewis got bronze with 7.77. The Olympic men's long jump final in Moscow was held less than two weeks later, on July 28.)
Beamon's record was set at altitude (not knocking it, an amazing jump), which makes many of Lewis's performances in the 80's superior. Lewis never competed at altitude in his prime because he didn't want the little A next to his name.
@@HamishGarland Not sure about "many" of his performances in the 1980s were superior - he did 8.79s in two years and 8.76s in two others - so it's debatable whether Beamon got 11/14 cm assistance from the altitude (though the Mexico City wind gauge was likely not accurate). Certainly Lewis's 1991 WC jumps would have been superior. But, bottom line, he never got that world record.
If Lewis was anything he was a top-class competitor, his gold against all odds in 96 proves it but his magnificent immediate response to Powell's World record jump in 91 is what proves the caliber of competitor that Lewis is. Ive no doubt he woulda broken his PB at the 1980 Olympics, would it have been enough to earn a medal is another story.
@@jeremygilbert7190 Beamon never came close before or after Mexico to the distance he jumped there, it was totally outa the blue. I've no doubt Lewis during the 80s was over 8.50 more often than Beamon throughout his entire career.
The greatest olympian of ALLTIME period. To be one of the greatest sprinters of alltime. And the absolute long jump GOAT. Is something we will never see again.
I'm old enough to remember all the rumors at the time about Carl and his homemade "cough syrup." That's all I'm gonna say. Google it. The Guardian did a great story on the Lewis-Ben Johnson "rivalry" in 2013 or 2014 and how Johnson got banned but Lewis never did. No comment about Mike Powell...but...that world record out of nowhere was sketch...
Goddamn. Seeing the black and white picture made me think it was a video about the 1800s and seeing the title made me think "oh he went unbeaten for ten years well thats good". If you get my drift.
my cousin who did athletics was an hardcore fan of Lewis (and Garry Kasparov for chess). But now... To be honest, all people who are interested in athletics know that today these athletes would test positive for doping.
On the ESPN 20th Century Greatest Athlete list Lewis was 12th which seems kinda ridiculous considering how after all these years no T&F athlete has come close to his domination and longevity.
I remember there was a TV montage put together of Carl competing in the long jump at Atlanta. It was done to Mariah Carey's "When a hero comes along.". It as very poignant as the relay team lost and other long jumpers were not perfirmi g to their best. Carl was a hero!
i started to become a huge track'n'field fan after the WR of Powell. Still rooting for Lewis back than tough. 2 great athletes, Lewis of course a legend.
What is there to say about it? First, it was never measured, so no one really knows its distance. Second, it was not inadvertently ruled a foul; it was judged to be a foul by the official responsible for deciding.
@@RichardIILionheart it was judged a foul because the official didn’t know the rules. Lewis’ toe broke the plane of the board, but he did not touch the ground. That was proven. The judge ruled a follow because he broke the plane, but that’s not a foul. They also refused to measure it despite Lewis’ request and protest.
@@philippeterson9512 In was still not inadvertently ruled a foul. It might have been a wrong judgment by the official, but it was not inadvertent. The foul rule, or at least its interpretation, has not been entirely consistent over the years. For a number of years, if there was no mark in the plasticine, it was a legal take-off. But as I understand it, today it is a foul when any part of the shoe crosses the front plane of the take-off board, whether a mark is left in the plasticine or not.
Bolt often gets called the GOAT of track & field but to me it is Carl Lewis and it isn't even close. He is simultaneously by far the greatest long jumper ever and probably a top 5 sprinter of all time.
6 X Seasons Fastest 100m = Lewis 5 X Seasons Fastest 100m = Bolt Both broke the world record 3 times at sea level The numbers say Lewis is THEE greatest 100m sprinter of ALL TIME
@SPIDERM0OSE The 100m WR was 9.93 prior to Carl who lowered to 9.86. He lowered the WR by 0.07 in totality. The world record prior to Bolt was 9.73. Bolt lowered it to 9.58 or by 0.15 seconds. Carl never held the 200m WR while Bolt lowered it by 0.13 seconds. Bolt has 16 combined 100m and 200m world and Olympic golds. Carl has only 6 combined world and olympic golds in the 100m and 200m. There isn't a reasonable argument that Carl Lewis is a greater sprinter than Bolt.
@@MrKT410 I specified 100m sprinter & gave the relevant numbers to support the claim. In real terms without splitting hairs about microseconds without taking into account the different weather conditions, eras & their advancements in sports science, nutrition & supplements etc, Lewis's numbers in the 100m are clearly superior to Bolts. They are at best equal as far as Bolt is concerned seeing as they both set the 100m WR at sea level 3 times apiece, however, Lewis was the Seasons fastest 100m sprinter more often than Bolt. Its simply irrefutable. You go on to mention World & Olympic Gold Medals without acknowledging that until 1993 the World Championships were held every 4 years, not every 2 years as in Bolts era. But that aside, let us again look at the real terms here & once again the facts show that Lewis is the superior 100m sprinter to Bolt due to the fact that in each n every Olympic & World Championships that Lewis competed in the 100m, he won the Gold Medal, something Bolt can not claim. Bolt had to compete in 4 x World Championships to match Lewis 3 x 100m Gold Medals, achieved by competing in only 3 x World Championships. Bolt competed in 1 x Olympic 100m & 1x World Championships extra than Lewis did but he only has 1 extra Gold Medal to show for it. He was 6 x 100m Golds compared to Lewis's 5. On a side note, as for who is the best sprinter of all time, I think you will find that when you compare Michael Johnsons vital statistics to Bolts as a sprinter in 2 events that Johnson is the superior sprinter. In the event they shared, the 200m, they both set the World Record twice. Both were the Seasons fastest Sprinter in their duel events in the same season 4 x times, however, Johnson was the Seasons fastest Sprinter 14 x times across his 2 events, & in 1 of his events 8 x seasons in a row. Thats a level of consistency & excellence Bolt never even came close to matching.
Dont get me wrong here, Bolt was phenomenal. His records & his Championship performances were outstanding & he is undoubtedly an all time great & as you have shown you can even legitimately argue that he is the greatest. But argue is all you can do, as its not a fact set in stone, as I have shown. When it comes to Greatness I think all 3 are on the same plain, they are just in different eras. Lewis owned the entire 1980s, there wasn't a major championships where he wasn't the main attraction. He was a rock star, ignore his actual singing here, the point being he transcended the sport & dominated culturally more so than any athlete before him or since him, he was literally one of the most famous men on earth. Nobody can seriously doubt that if the World Championships were held in 85 & 89 that he would also have won 100m Gold in those too. In the athletics world, Johnson owned the entire 1990s similar to how Lewis owned the 80s & just like Lewis was perceived to be so far ahead of his competition in the LJ that the event was barely worth watching, Johnson had similar dominance in the 400m. He was machine-like, if he was in a race he was gonna win it, nobody had any doubt, the only question was, was he gonna break a world record. Thats a level of combined cultural & sporting dominance Bolt never quite achieved. He doesn't have a decade to call his own & his era fell in behind an era where the 100m record seemed to get broken every year or two by just another here-today-gone-tomorrow forgettable sprinter who was either under investigation for drugs, had been caught taking drugs or was generally assumed to be taking drugs. Bolt was great, he just wasn't quite as great as Lewis & Johnson were, not on the track, & not off the track when comparing him to Lewis, & if you compare him to Johnson off the track Id say Bolt was more charismatic & fan-friendly, but that due to Johnsons absolute Terminator-like dominance on the track he had more impact in the general sporting world than Bolt had.
WRONG. EDWIN MOSES was the track athlete never beaten in over 10 years in a much more difficult race: the 400m hurdles!!! And Moses was never associated with or rumored with doping like lewis was
@@ehrren7228 The streak was from August 26th, 1977 to June 4th, 1987. That's 9 years, 9 months and 9 days. Over 9 years, less than 10 years, as I said.
@@bolder2009 There are no major track meets/events on that scale held monthly, not weekly, nor daily. 3 months & 3 wks don't discount nor diminish. In track terms, that's 10 years and to make you feel better, that's 10 calendar years. 122 consecutive races held in the only time the streak could've been held, which was 10 years.
Carl Lewis got Track and Field noticed in the 1980s... Just an amazing athlete that was great to watch. He was winning everything. But I think when he started losing, was the time when he was getting up in the fame-part of his career. I mean, it happens to many top-level athletes. He lost focus. But he fought back for that one last medal. A true athlete. It took about 3 seconds for me to remember who that face was at the beginning of video. One of the all-time great athletes ever.
He doesn't get enough credit for his long jump record. What he achieved will never be approached let alone broken. Although he doesn't have the world record. His consistency and ability to jump over 8.70M. Will never be beaten.
Never is a long time. However, He closed the gap, or filled the gap on Beamons miracle jump which was something like 30 inches beyond the former world record, in doing so Lewis proved his magnificence with his consistency & creating the general expectation that it was only a matter of time until he would break Beamon's record.
All people shown in this video are in the HOF In one sport only! WNC is a HOFer in 3 different sports! You might want to keep that in mind when handing out greatest athlete awards!
I have to say that I really felt for Carl Lewis when Mike Powell beat him the first time, not that I ever begrudged Powell his win. It was rather like when Beaman virtually jumped out of the pit but I always thought that was a freak jump but he still won. And I was really ecstatic when he won that final Olympic Gold in what was his Swan-Song Year.
If we are talking domination. John "The Giant Slayer" Brzenk went 25 YEARS undefeated and undisputed arm wrestling champion of the world. He was a little Mormon airplane mechanic who was destroying 6'6" 300lbs juice heads from all over the world and made it look easy... he DOMINATED for 25 years...
I love this video, thank you for the motivation to train lol. I thought this was going to have a comment on Michael Jordan's potential long jump distance had he been a long jumper.
Undoubtedly a great athlete, but without juice his stats would be marginally better than Jesse Owens. When a better juicer came along, the States made sure he was quickly removed. I looked up to this guy as a kid, but the politics at play during this era make me very angry now.
Most people do not understand Carl Lewis' greatest achievement: ensuring that track and field stars and champions got paid what they deserved!! Before Carl, the winners of the sprinting competitions in the Olympics and world championships were paid peanuts! Carl changed all of that by winning and then being stubborn negotiator with the officials and the endorsement companies. Carl swore to his coach, to his family and to himself that if he was to become a successful sprinter, he wasn't going to need to work after retirement because of all the millions he made! And Carl made it happen! Carl was a super tough negotiator with the governing bodies of track and field, with the US government, with the advertisement agencies, and with the gear companies (shoe companies). People in the industry despised him for a long time because of his arrogance and demeanor towards the officials and the endorsement companies! But it worked! He retired a multi-millionaire and paved the way for track stars to get the money they deserved! Michael Johnson said it best: I never really liked Carl and we had many disagreements, but in part thanks to him we got the money we deserved! Carl helped us all become millionaires!
@@mikephalen3162 Wrong! The evil and corrupt IOC makes billions of dollars via the hard work of the athletes. So, the IOC should pay them! Period. The end! This is why people love the US professional sports systems: MLB, NBA, NFL, etc... Because the personnel responsible for the revenue are getting their slice of the monetary pay from that same revenue! It's called economic justice and apparently you don't know what that concept entails!!
Aleksander Karellin was the greatest athlete to ever live. In Greco wrestling he went 887-2 over the course of 15 years. He won most matches 10-0 in the first 3 minutes. He fought with broken ribs and detached muscles and still dominated. Nothing any other athlete has done can beat that.
@@DreamteamCarlo good point. Maybe sports competitor would be better? But there are also people like Alex Honnold who are just as skilled at what they do as the best athletes and they do not compete against anyone else
Is vigorous hugging considered to be "Athletics" now? If so then I say Phil Taylor who won 16 World Championships in darts, at least 11 of them while he was drunk as a skunk, is the world's greatest "athlete"
@@SPIDERM0OSE well both of them require skill and dedication to the craft to succeed in. You are right, I should have clarified the difference between athletics and other sports. I still think of all the people who compete in sports, Karelin was one of the best.
Watching Lewis back in the day was what got me into track and field, he was amazing!
Yep! I was a sprinter in high school and college, and to this day, I credit watching Carl Lewis with helping me to fix my form and become a more efficient sprinter. I study his form for endless hours. He was beautiful to watch.
Lewis Jumped 30 feet In 1982
It was the doping that got me interested! Cheaters win 🥇
caught cheater lol
Carl Lewis is also the only athlete to retain an Olympic gold medal in the men’s long jump let alone win 4 consecutive Olympic titles in the event also he qualified for the boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics in the long jump as a teenager.
Djokovic is the GAAT. 🎉
How many of those were ped free ?
also doped with the rest of the santa monica track team
And he qualified as a Steroid user to just like everyone esle in those times.
Immortals ❤
And let us not forget Carl Lewis' legendary singing, displayed in his song "break it up"
i love sarcasm
@@vincentvangogh8092
To be fair, his *singing* ability is actually good. The problem with the song is that it has all of the worst, most outdated elements of 80s pop.
I had tears in my eyes when he sang the National Anthem.......but for all the wrong reasons. LOL
Emile Zatopek....better than Lewis....He won the 5k...10K and the Marathon in the same Olympics....1952. And he had to run the 5K TWICE. Once to qualify for the finals. Also better than Lewis...Jim Thorpe.
@@thehumanracehasfailedthat voice CRACK 😂
Carl still holds the INDOOR World Record for the long jump, at a staggering 28 feet, 10 inches. This record was set on January 30th of 1984. In 7 more days (it will be 40 YEARS that this record has stood, unbroken.) Remember, if the United States had not boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Carl Lewis would have had FIVE Olympic Gold medals in the Long Jump. Think about that one for a moment, from the standpoint of longevity.
Mini Steve Redgrave
how about the british guy who still holds the triple jump record a far more technical event that he did clean
Carl Lewis was not favored to win a medal whether the US competed in the Moscow 1980 Olympics or not.
He likely would have had silver in 1980.
@@ChessMasterNate
Lewis might possibly have won silver in 1980. His best legal jump to that point was 8.13 meters. That length jump would have tied for fourth in Moscow.
I’ve watched your videos for a long time and they are very entertaining. Thank you for making them
I was there to see him win in Atlanta. It's the one big event I can honestly say "I was there!"
I‘m too young to have known him but my das was a huge fan. He often told me those incredible storys. Thanks to you for keeping up the memories to the great athletes and stories.
Thank you for a great summary of Carl Lewis achievements in the long jump. Please summarize his achievements in the 100m in a future vidoe. And he would probably have 5 long jump gold medals if the US would not have boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
Ivan Pedroso went on to win 4 consecutive WC LJ Golds in '95, '97, '99 & '01 as well as '00 Olympic Gold. The event has really missed fellow Cuban Long Jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría who jumped 8.66m & 8.68m at just 20yrs old (still only 25) but has been absent following his Silver Medal in the '21 Tokyo Olympic Final :(
I really hope he makes a comeback
@@khumokwezimashapa2245 🤞 Same with former Cuban now Spanish Triple Jumper Jordan Alejandro Díaz Fortun (17.87m PB). Wanna see him battle with the likes of Pichardo, Hibbert & Zango!
Not trying to disrespect Pedroso, as he was a beast and his accomplishments are amazing, but those are world championships held two years apart, meaning he was the man in the long jump from 1995 to 2001. Carl was Olympic Champ from 1984 to 1996, and he also qualified for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow that was boycotted by the U.S., so he very well could have won that too. Again, not disrespecting Pedroso. I love him, but no one will EVER touch Carl in the long jump.
Jim Thorpe was a better athlete.
Lewis Jumped 30 feet In 1982
I'm a huge fan! I remember being absolutely glued to the television during his last Olympic appearance.
Lewis Jumped 30 feet In 1982
I'm not a runner. I don't watch or follow it. But your videos are so fantastic that I watch all of them that cross my feed. Just a great job 👍
JACKED up to the hilt!!!!
So is everybody else.
@@Elemental_EntityPowell?
Felt like sooooo much info in only 11mins. And it didnt feel at all rushed. Wow! Subscribed
65 consecutive long jump wins is bloody impressive. Just over 50% of what Edwin Moses did in the 400 hurdles with 122 consecutive wins. ;)
Where I agree that Carl Lewis was indeed an amazing athlete winning medals in many events, I would still have to put Bob Beamon as the greatest long jumper just because his WR was insane.
I saw a documentary about Ben Johnson who was famously stripped of his 1988 100m gold for doping.
Turns out the guy who run the doping tests kept all samples from that race, retested them using modern methods and the highest placed athlete who was not doped came 5th (Brazil's Robson Da Silva).
@@RinslerRR It also pointed out that the favoured doping method of the time had the side effect of loosening teeth meaning that anybody at the time wearing braces was most likely doping.
There were a lot of athletes at the time who had straight teeth but suddenly wore braces for no apparent reason.
Just don’t mention the drugs 😂
I literally have never seen a video about Carl Lewis without someone bringing up doping. Like it dismisses him being an all time great
@speaks4380D'oh! Because it does. Unless the competition is cheating successfully.
@@jamaalspeaks4380he accused Ben Johnson of cheating and got him stripped but the whole time carl
LEwis was dopng too thats why
An athlete extraordinaire.
A victim of his own success.
3 x Gold Medals at the 83 World Championships, including a World Record
3 x Gold Medals at the 87 World Championships, including a World Record
3 x Medals at the 91 World Championships, including TWO World Records.
1 x medal at the 93 World Championships
4 x Gold Medals in the 84 Olympics, including a world record
3 x Medals at the 88 Olympics including a world record.
2 x Gold medals at the 92 Olympics, including a world record
1 x Gold medal at the 96 Olympics, including a Masters World Record.
Imagine how good he woulda been at the Long Jump if he singled it out & specialised in it alone?
Ive no doubt he woulda broken Beamons World Record a few times.
Lewis was a mind blowingly good athlete, maybe the best of all time.
Carl gets a lot of shade thrown at him because he's his own worst enemy with his attitude and the BS he talks, but the truth is, he was a BEAST on the track. NO ONE will ever break (or even tie) his 4 long jump Olympic golds (and if the U.S. didn't boycott the 1980 Olympics, he may have won 5). He was world champ in the 100 from 1983 to 1991, and this was when it was only held every 4 years. 2 time Olympic Champ in the 100. Former world record holder in the 100. Olympic gold and silver in the 200. Anchored NUMEROUS world championship, Olympic championship, and world record 4x100 relay teams. And on top of all that, he had BEAUTIFUL form and was a joy to watch racing down the track. Dude was amazing! I just wish he had a slightly better attitude.
Let's not forget that Carl Lewis tested positive for PEDs at the 1988 Olympic Trials.
Yes he was great but he also confessed to doping.
One of the biggest reasons of Lewis' continued success was his amazing combination natural jumping ability combined with his raw sprinting speed ... boosted with the amazing combination of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine.
lol
If it haden't been for doping, the record woulden't been that good.
The most underappreciated athlete ever. To dominate the long jump and be one of the best in the sprints for all of those years is ridiculous.
It s funny for me because when americans talk about USSR or East Germany athletes of the 80s they always mention doping, but they dont do the same thing with their own athletes of that era like Carl Lewis or Mike Powell.
lol it’s a conversation many really aren’t trying to have haha
Santa monica track club and that pre olympics test meet when most of the USA team failed tests and still went to the olympics
Carl Lewis was a vegan and still accomplished all of this.
@@jwlee654 Vegan and dope head. Watch 9.79 documentary
@@jwlee654doping is vegan?
AND THAT WAS JUST HIS LONG JUMPING CAREER!!!!!!
It is nice to see such a channel covering multiple sports events
あらためて ルイスの走りとジャンプをじっくり観る機会をあたえてくれて ありがとうございます😊
Mr. Clean who enjoyed that reputation when was a fraud...
Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis the two greatest Track AND Field athletes of all time.
Bolt and Michael Johnson
@@n8george
How many long jumps did they win ?
😏
Carl Lewis is the best all time track and field athlete. Bolt might have had the fastest time ever but he was not the best overall track and field athlete ever and I still haven't seen a sprinter who ran as smooth and effortlessly as Carl Lewis. His running form was flawless.
@@SPIDERM0OSE I just realized what he did there with track 'AND' field lol. In that case, I can't argue that
@@SPIDERM0OSE But if we're talking athletics as a whole, Bolt's triple tremble is the most impressive achievement in the sport and one of the most impressive across all sports imo
There are so many interesting facets about Carl Lewis's athletic career. In the beginning coming out of HS, he was already a superb jumper but not a great sprinter. I think Coach Tellez would "coach him up" there to his eventual elite sprinter status. I believe he was a 10.5s in 100 meters, I've seen 9.3 for 100 yards but thought it was slower than that. So, of interest. It'd be Powell and not Lewis who finally overcame Beamon's giant longstanding LJ record from the '68 Olympics. And, one other giant misstep from Carl Lewis? In a preliminary round in a 200M race, he raised his arms and hands and glided in missing Pietro Minnea's longstanding 200M world record by ~ four hundredths of a second as I recall. Lewis's name will never appear in the 200M world record progression just like it doesn't in the Long Jump. Oh well! Oh! There was a long jump event at altitude, seems like it was in Denver one year, where Carl Lewis ever-so-slightly toe-fouled a jump that qualified viewers say looked to be a bit over 30 feet. So, Beamon was the great "statistical outlier" as he'd never even approach his monster 29+ footer again. Remember, when Beamon did that, no one had yet jumped 28 feet. Lewis had a longer period of success than Powell and all the other greats, better stats on big meet wins. Yes, he's the greatest long jumper of all time. Gotta say, that 200 race still bugs me.
A back completely covered in acne, a square jaw and a mouth full of braces.....please forgive my cynicsm. The guy was a pin cushion, as was the rest of the Santa Monica track club at the time. Growth hormones will do that to you. 🙄 lucky for him he wasn't Canadian
The funniest thing a reliable test for HGH wasn’t even developed till 2008 and even then the glow time of HGH is still pretty low
In an era of zero Out of comp testing it’s hard to believe no dabbled in *nothing* considering you know when you were gonna be tested it’s all about timings
You can say today athletes are doped but they have a whereabouts and random out of comp test to deal with at least so that self governs them more
Eddie Murphy did a skit playing Carl Lewis where he said his shoes caught on fire on the backstretch. Haha
That’s the one where he raced the faith healer who was going to heal a guy in a wheelchair. “I’m Carl Lewis, I race horses man!”. Classic skit.
Man got so good at running that he learned to stop using the ground.
I remember feeling relieved that he hadn't been on the 4x100 in 1996 because he would have been blamed for the loss. He was such a champion to still get the long jump gold.
they didn't t lose , we won
Credit to the great Santa Monica Track Club
Ben Johnson crushed him at the Seoul Olympics in the 100m
WHAT A SUPRISE
Thank you for SUCH A MOBILIZING FILM
Even more so in these times when people forget about KING CARL
KIND REGARDS
and as usual, Masterpiece;
He was nailed for taking drugs
No he was not.
Prior to the 1984 LA Olympics, Carl Lewis and a film crew showed up to our high School track. We were starting our practice and delayed a little wanted to watch him, but he just ran in ‘slow mode’ for the cameras, so we carried on. He was amazing though, and we were very proud of him.
Him and Edwin Moses were the truth
A 10 yr streak. That man shins gotta be made of steel😅
The Powell v Lewis battle when they *both* beat Beamon's record from 1968 is just surreal.
The Beamon record seemed like a fluke of nature that beat the previous record by over half a meter. It would last forever.
That Lewis beat Beamon's record of 23 years was a moment in history.
That Powell then topped Lewis within minutes is the stuff of The Twilight Zone.
Untouchable running all the heats before the finals and winning 100m, 200m, long jump, ,4×100 2×
The fact that Powell had to break the world record to beat him is impressive, but add to that, the record stills stand over 30 years later…tells you just how good it was
Lewis broke his PB in his very next jump in response to Powells WR. In his final jump he broke his previous PB again. I think that says everything there is to be said about Lewis as a sportsman & competitor, he was next level.
@@SPIDERM0OSE no doubt. He was special
@@GIBBO4182
Fo sho, bro.
Great story of perseverance and dedication.
Not even watched the vid, and now already responding 😅
He's from the 80s. They all took back then. I love that stride though.
Am I the only one that has a memory of him coming out sometime around 2000 and admitting he cheated? Maybe it was a dream or Mandela effect, but I feel like it was real.
Yes
BTW at the Olympic trials in 96, it took until Lewis' very last jump to make the team. I remember watching and the announcer saying this was it, this is his entire career. He goes past, I can't remember what it was, he goes to the Olympics, if he doesn't, he's done. Like, gee no pressure there. And he did it.
thanks love your videos
Bro was doped like a horse (others aswell) to achieve such high marks. This tentoglou guy jumps 8,5s clean od say he is just as good
yep, those were the steroid years. He got his ass kicked by Johnson. And they both were doing it. As well as others
Spice Boys ... 🙄
Would love to see a video on Jonathan Edwards.
A crazy good triple jumper who still holds the world record, but who most people don't know about.
Mlitiadis Tentoglu, the only athlete who joined Carl Lewis as the only long jumper wih more than one Olympic Gold medals and he's only like 26 years old? WOW!!!!!! Back to back Gold Medals in the Olympics ans a ton of other Gold medals, to every event!!!
carl lewis at the age of 35 years old jumped 8.50m at 1996 Olympics would win 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympics., makes me laugh.
He failed 3 drug tests during the 1988 US Olympic trials
Nothing but respect
Lewis Jumped 30 feet In 1982
Did anyone else notice that he was only using an 18 stride run up in 1996? Opposed to the 22 stride run up he was using previously
Thank you for this Vid. I've been boasting about Carl Lewis since 1989, at least. He won a Gold Medal in 5 consecutive Olympics. That kind of longevity says volumes. I'm proud that he's an American. Or that I am- same as he.
Had Jimmy Carter not boycotted the 1980 Olympics he may have had 5 gold medals in the long jump. He made the 1980 Olympic team.
Hard to argue against calling him the greatest long jumper ever, great career summary here. Though the fact he never held the world record has to be underlined. Mike Powell's world record, now 32 years old, is the longest-standing world record ever in the men's long jump.
As for those who suggest Lewis would have had five gold medals if not for the 1980 Olympic boycott, it has to be remembered he was still a teenager then, and only managed an 8.11 that year, while Lutz Dombroski won the Olympic title with an 8.54, the second-longest leap in history. The man who might have challenged Dombroski would have been Larry Myricks, the top American in the event back then, his 8.52 from the year before the first jump over 28 feet since Bob Beamon.
If Lewis had matched his personal best that year, that still would have only got him 4th place in Moscow. However, if the Olympics had been held in 1981... he might have got that gold, as Lewis first showed us his greatness in the event, with an 8.62.
(Subsequent edit, should have checked this first. Perhaps the closest thing to an Olympics in 1980 for Americans was the Liberty Bell Classic, attended by athletes from 29 countries, mostly Olympic boycott countries, in Philadelphia July 16 and 17. The men's long jump was one of the events, won by Myricks with an 8.20 jump. American Larry Doubley got silver with 7.95, and Carl Lewis got bronze with 7.77. The Olympic men's long jump final in Moscow was held less than two weeks later, on July 28.)
The only rival to Lewis being the best is Pedroso and Pedroso has no world record either although he jumped 8.96 on ome occasion
Beamon's record was set at altitude (not knocking it, an amazing jump), which makes many of Lewis's performances in the 80's superior.
Lewis never competed at altitude in his prime because he didn't want the little A next to his name.
@@HamishGarland Not sure about "many" of his performances in the 1980s were superior - he did 8.79s in two years and 8.76s in two others - so it's debatable whether Beamon got 11/14 cm assistance from the altitude (though the Mexico City wind gauge was likely not accurate). Certainly Lewis's 1991 WC jumps would have been superior. But, bottom line, he never got that world record.
If Lewis was anything he was a top-class competitor, his gold against all odds in 96 proves it but his magnificent immediate response to Powell's World record jump in 91 is what proves the caliber of competitor that Lewis is. Ive no doubt he woulda broken his PB at the 1980 Olympics, would it have been enough to earn a medal is another story.
@@jeremygilbert7190
Beamon never came close before or after Mexico to the distance he jumped there, it was totally outa the blue.
I've no doubt Lewis during the 80s was over 8.50 more often than Beamon throughout his entire career.
3:32 is as long as I could go...
The greatest olympian of ALLTIME period. To be one of the greatest sprinters of alltime. And the absolute long jump GOAT. Is something we will never see again.
nah , Phelps , is way ahead
The fact that it took an insane Mike Powell WR in 1991 to break the streak, tells you all you need to know about it.
that 91 world championship was brilliant.
I'm old enough to remember all the rumors at the time about Carl and his homemade "cough syrup." That's all I'm gonna say. Google it. The Guardian did a great story on the Lewis-Ben Johnson "rivalry" in 2013 or 2014 and how Johnson got banned but Lewis never did. No comment about Mike Powell...but...that world record out of nowhere was sketch...
Goddamn. Seeing the black and white picture made me think it was a video about the 1800s and seeing the title made me think "oh he went unbeaten for ten years well thats good". If you get my drift.
And he used performance enhancement.
NO!
my cousin who did athletics was an hardcore fan of Lewis (and Garry Kasparov for chess). But now... To be honest, all people who are interested in athletics know that today these athletes would test positive for doping.
On the ESPN 20th Century Greatest Athlete list Lewis was 12th which seems kinda ridiculous considering how after all these years no T&F athlete has come close to his domination and longevity.
Politricks.
I remember there was a TV montage put together of Carl competing in the long jump at Atlanta. It was done to Mariah Carey's "When a hero comes along.". It as very poignant as the relay team lost and other long jumpers were not perfirmi g to their best. Carl was a hero!
i started to become a huge track'n'field fan after the WR of Powell. Still rooting for Lewis back than tough. 2 great athletes, Lewis of course a legend.
Plz make a video for tentoglou
You should do a segment on Carl Lewis’s 30 foot jump that was in advertently ruled a foul.
What is there to say about it? First, it was never measured, so no one really knows its distance. Second, it was not inadvertently ruled a foul; it was judged to be a foul by the official responsible for deciding.
@@RichardIILionheart it was judged a foul because the official didn’t know the rules. Lewis’ toe broke the plane of the board, but he did not touch the ground. That was proven. The judge ruled a follow because he broke the plane, but that’s not a foul. They also refused to measure it despite Lewis’ request and protest.
@@philippeterson9512
In was still not inadvertently ruled a foul. It might have been a wrong judgment by the official, but it was not inadvertent. The foul rule, or at least its interpretation, has not been entirely consistent over the years. For a number of years, if there was no mark in the plasticine, it was a legal take-off. But as I understand it, today it is a foul when any part of the shoe crosses the front plane of the take-off board, whether a mark is left in the plasticine or not.
Lewis showed just how good you can be on the right drugs 👏👏
The guy is an Ego maniac, but you can't blame him
Bolt often gets called the GOAT of track & field but to me it is Carl Lewis and it isn't even close. He is simultaneously by far the greatest long jumper ever and probably a top 5 sprinter of all time.
Lewis broke the 100m WR in 87, 88 & 91, who broke it more often than he did ?
6 X Seasons Fastest 100m = Lewis
5 X Seasons Fastest 100m = Bolt
Both broke the world record 3 times at sea level
The numbers say Lewis is THEE greatest 100m sprinter of ALL TIME
@SPIDERM0OSE The 100m WR was 9.93 prior to Carl who lowered to 9.86. He lowered the WR by 0.07 in totality. The world record prior to Bolt was 9.73. Bolt lowered it to 9.58 or by 0.15 seconds. Carl never held the 200m WR while Bolt lowered it by 0.13 seconds. Bolt has 16 combined 100m and 200m world and Olympic golds. Carl has only 6 combined world and olympic golds in the 100m and 200m. There isn't a reasonable argument that Carl Lewis is a greater sprinter than Bolt.
@@MrKT410
I specified 100m sprinter & gave the relevant numbers to support the claim. In real terms without splitting hairs about microseconds without taking into account the different weather conditions, eras & their advancements in sports science, nutrition & supplements etc, Lewis's numbers in the 100m are clearly superior to Bolts.
They are at best equal as far as Bolt is concerned seeing as they both set the 100m WR at sea level 3 times apiece, however, Lewis was the Seasons fastest 100m sprinter more often than Bolt.
Its simply irrefutable.
You go on to mention World & Olympic Gold Medals without acknowledging that until 1993 the World Championships were held every 4 years, not every 2 years as in Bolts era.
But that aside, let us again look at the real terms here & once again the facts show that Lewis is the superior 100m sprinter to Bolt due to the fact that in each n every Olympic & World Championships that Lewis competed in the 100m, he won the Gold Medal, something Bolt can not claim.
Bolt had to compete in 4 x World Championships to match Lewis 3 x 100m Gold Medals, achieved by competing in only 3 x World Championships.
Bolt competed in 1 x Olympic 100m & 1x World Championships extra than Lewis did but he only has 1 extra Gold Medal to show for it. He was 6 x 100m Golds compared to Lewis's 5.
On a side note, as for who is the best sprinter of all time, I think you will find that when you compare Michael Johnsons vital statistics to Bolts as a sprinter in 2 events that Johnson is the superior sprinter.
In the event they shared, the 200m, they both set the World Record twice.
Both were the Seasons fastest Sprinter in their duel events in the same season 4 x times, however, Johnson was the Seasons fastest Sprinter 14 x times across his 2 events, & in 1 of his events 8 x seasons in a row. Thats a level of consistency & excellence Bolt never even came close to matching.
Dont get me wrong here, Bolt was phenomenal. His records & his Championship performances were outstanding & he is undoubtedly an all time great & as you have shown you can even legitimately argue that he is the greatest. But argue is all you can do, as its not a fact set in stone, as I have shown.
When it comes to Greatness I think all 3 are on the same plain, they are just in different eras.
Lewis owned the entire 1980s, there wasn't a major championships where he wasn't the main attraction. He was a rock star, ignore his actual singing here, the point being he transcended the sport & dominated culturally more so than any athlete before him or since him, he was literally one of the most famous men on earth. Nobody can seriously doubt that if the World Championships were held in 85 & 89 that he would also have won 100m Gold in those too.
In the athletics world, Johnson owned the entire 1990s similar to how Lewis owned the 80s & just like Lewis was perceived to be so far ahead of his competition in the LJ that the event was barely worth watching, Johnson had similar dominance in the 400m. He was machine-like, if he was in a race he was gonna win it, nobody had any doubt, the only question was, was he gonna break a world record.
Thats a level of combined cultural & sporting dominance Bolt never quite achieved. He doesn't have a decade to call his own & his era fell in behind an era where the 100m record seemed to get broken every year or two by just another here-today-gone-tomorrow forgettable sprinter who was either under investigation for drugs, had been caught taking drugs or was generally assumed to be taking drugs.
Bolt was great, he just wasn't quite as great as Lewis & Johnson were, not on the track, & not off the track when comparing him to Lewis, & if you compare him to Johnson off the track Id say Bolt was more charismatic & fan-friendly, but that due to Johnsons absolute Terminator-like dominance on the track he had more impact in the general sporting world than Bolt had.
The way Powell always wiped out landing constantly pissed me off... hahaha
On The JUICE!
Moses-Lewis-Johnson-FOREVER
Legendary and no roids!
WRONG. EDWIN MOSES was the track athlete never beaten in over 10 years in a much more difficult race: the 400m hurdles!!! And Moses was never associated with or rumored with doping like lewis was
It was over 9 years but under 10 years, if I'm not mistaken. 9 years and 9 months or there abouts.
@@bolder2009 That's incorrect. 1977 - 1987. 10 years. I don't have to read about it. I witnessed it. I'm 56 yrs old. 122 consecutive races.
@@ehrren7228 The streak was from August 26th, 1977 to June 4th, 1987. That's 9 years, 9 months and 9 days. Over 9 years, less than 10 years, as I said.
@@bolder2009 There are no major track meets/events on that scale held monthly, not weekly, nor daily. 3 months & 3 wks don't discount nor diminish. In track terms, that's 10 years and to make you feel better, that's 10 calendar years. 122 consecutive races held in the only time the streak could've been held, which was 10 years.
Carl Lewis got Track and Field noticed in the 1980s... Just an amazing athlete that was great to watch. He was winning everything. But I think when he started losing, was the time when he was getting up in the fame-part of his career. I mean, it happens to many top-level athletes. He lost focus. But he fought back for that one last medal. A true athlete.
It took about 3 seconds for me to remember who that face was at the beginning of video. One of the all-time great athletes ever.
He doesn't get enough credit for his long jump record. What he achieved will never be approached let alone broken. Although he doesn't have the world record. His consistency and ability to jump over 8.70M. Will never be beaten.
Never is a long time.
However, He closed the gap, or filled the gap on Beamons miracle jump which was something like 30 inches beyond the former world record, in doing so Lewis proved his magnificence with his consistency & creating the general expectation that it was only a matter of time until he would break Beamon's record.
All people shown in this video are in the HOF In one sport only! WNC is a HOFer in 3 different sports! You might want to keep that in mind when handing out greatest athlete awards!
what a banger of a video
I could see Armand Duplantis dabbling in the LJ and doing incredible.
If he started speed training absolutely. But he’d have to run a sub 10 to get into the 8m range
The GOAT athlete possibly!
I have to say that I really felt for Carl Lewis when Mike Powell beat him the first time, not that I ever begrudged Powell his win. It was rather like when Beaman virtually jumped out of the pit but I always thought that was a freak jump but he still won. And I was really ecstatic when he won that final Olympic Gold in what was his Swan-Song Year.
If we are talking domination. John "The Giant Slayer" Brzenk went 25 YEARS undefeated and undisputed arm wrestling champion of the world. He was a little Mormon airplane mechanic who was destroying 6'6" 300lbs juice heads from all over the world and made it look easy... he DOMINATED for 25 years...
What was his longest jump though ?
😏
He’s also tested positive for doping… but the USA Olympic team didn’t punish him for it.
Underrated Goat
He just never got caught; just like Flojo!
I love this video, thank you for the motivation to train lol. I thought this was going to have a comment on Michael Jordan's potential long jump distance had he been a long jumper.
Lewis Jumped 30 feet In 1982
I thought Wilt Chamberlain, but this is indeed also very impressive.
Is the Carl's Jr restaurant named after this Carl or a different Carl?
I don´t know this story, but Lewis Hamilton, F! driver his complete name is Lewis Carl Hamilton honoring him.
@@pepelopezcrecimientopersonalYup Lewis was born in 1985 and his father named him that after Carl Lewis 1984 triumphs
Undoubtedly a great athlete, but without juice his stats would be marginally better than Jesse Owens.
When a better juicer came along, the States made sure he was quickly removed.
I looked up to this guy as a kid, but the politics at play during this era make me very angry now.
Most people do not understand Carl Lewis' greatest achievement: ensuring that track and field stars and champions got paid what they deserved!! Before Carl, the winners of the sprinting competitions in the Olympics and world championships were paid peanuts! Carl changed all of that by winning and then being stubborn negotiator with the officials and the endorsement companies. Carl swore to his coach, to his family and to himself that if he was to become a successful sprinter, he wasn't going to need to work after retirement because of all the millions he made! And Carl made it happen! Carl was a super tough negotiator with the governing bodies of track and field, with the US government, with the advertisement agencies, and with the gear companies (shoe companies). People in the industry despised him for a long time because of his arrogance and demeanor towards the officials and the endorsement companies! But it worked! He retired a multi-millionaire and paved the way for track stars to get the money they deserved! Michael Johnson said it best: I never really liked Carl and we had many disagreements, but in part thanks to him we got the money we deserved! Carl helped us all become millionaires!
The Olympics ought not to be a payday. Let the shoe and clothing companies lay out the treasure.
@@mikephalen3162 Wrong! The evil and corrupt IOC makes billions of dollars via the hard work of the athletes. So, the IOC should pay them! Period. The end! This is why people love the US professional sports systems: MLB, NBA, NFL, etc... Because the personnel responsible for the revenue are getting their slice of the monetary pay from that same revenue! It's called economic justice and apparently you don't know what that concept entails!!
Aleksander Karellin was the greatest athlete to ever live. In Greco wrestling he went 887-2 over the course of 15 years. He won most matches 10-0 in the first 3 minutes. He fought with broken ribs and detached muscles and still dominated. Nothing any other athlete has done can beat that.
I assume with the word athlete in this case they mean somebody who does athletics. But yes, Karelin was awesome!
@@DreamteamCarlo good point. Maybe sports competitor would be better? But there are also people like Alex Honnold who are just as skilled at what they do as the best athletes and they do not compete against anyone else
Is vigorous hugging considered to be "Athletics" now?
If so then I say Phil Taylor who won 16 World Championships in darts, at least 11 of them while he was drunk as a skunk, is the world's greatest "athlete"
@@SPIDERM0OSE well both of them require skill and dedication to the craft to succeed in. You are right, I should have clarified the difference between athletics and other sports. I still think of all the people who compete in sports, Karelin was one of the best.
@@crendler9912
Phil Taylor would absolutely HAMMER him !
His the greatest long jumper who just happens to be one of the greatest sprinters ever, won’t likely ever be another Carl Lewis
Saw Carl Lewis in a made for TV “best athlete” competition show. He kicked everyone’s @** in an obstacle course event.