One of the greatest things about Lewis is his ability to think all positive, no matter if he wins or loses, pretending to be perfect and therefore unbeatable.

For a man who has defined track and field for more than a decade, whenever he decide to walk away, the greatest loss will be to the sport, not to him. What about naming him the greatest Olympian of all times?

Who is Carl Lewis?

Frederick Carlton ("Carl") Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 golds, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were golds, in a career that spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing an acting career.

Lewis was a dominant sprinter and long jumper who topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events frequently from 1981 to the early 1990s, was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News in 1982, 1983 and 1984, and set world records in the 100 m, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays. He still is the current world record holder long jump indoor (since 1984). His 65 consecutive victories in the long jump achieved over a span of 10 years is one of the sport’s longest undefeated streaks. As a measure of his competitive accomplishments, his only two losses in the Olympics and World Championships prior to 1993 were to a world record (long jump in 1991) and a low-altitude world best (200 m in 1988).

His lifetime accomplishments have led to numerous accolades, including being voted "Sportsman of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee and being named "Olympian of the Century" by the American sports magazine ‘Sports Illustrated.’ He also helped transform track and field from its nominal amateur status to its current professional status, thus enabling athletes to have more lucrative and longer-lasting careers.

Drug accusations

In 2003, Dr. Wade Exum, the United States Olympic Committee’s director of drug control administration from 1991 to 2000, gave copies of documents to Sports Illustrated which revealed that some 100 American athletes who failed drug tests and should have been prevented from competing in the Olympics were nevertheless cleared to compete. Among those athletes was Carl Lewis.

It was revealed that Lewis tested positive three times before the 1988 Olympics for pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, banned stimulants also found in cold medication, and had been banned from the Seoul Olympics and from competition for six months. The USOC accepted his claim of inadvertent use and overturned the decision. Fellow Santa Monica Track Club teammates Joe DeLoach and Floyd Heard were also found to have the same banned stimulants in their systems, and were cleared to compete for the same reason.

The positive results occurred at the Olympic Trials in July 1988 where athletes were required to declare on the drug-testing forms "over-the-counter medication, prescription drugs and any other substances you have taken by mouth, injection or by suppository."

"Carl did nothing wrong. There was never intent. He was never told, you violated the rules," said Martin D. Singer, Lewis’ lawyer, who also said that Lewis had inadvertently taken the banned stimulants in an over-the-counter herbal remedy. "The only thing I can say is I think it’s unfortunate what Wade Exum is trying to do," said Lewis. "I don’t know what people are trying to make out of nothing because everyone was treated the same, so what are we talking about? I don’t get it."

Former athletes and officials came out against the USOC cover-up. "For so many years I lived it. I knew this was going on, but there’s absolutely nothing you can do as an athlete. You have to believe governing bodies are doing what they are supposed to do. And it is obvious they did not", said former American sprint queen and 1984 Olympic champion, Evelyn Ashford.

Personal Best Marks

100 m: 9.86 s (1991)

200 m: 19.75 s (1983)

Long jump: 8.87 m (29 ft 1¼ in) 1991, w 8.91 m (29 ft 2¾ in) 1991

4x100 m relay: 37.40 s (United States - Marsh; Burrell; Mitchell; Lewis - 1992; current world record)

4x200 m relay: 1:18.68 min (Santa Monica Track Club - Marsh; Burrell; Heard; Lewis - 1994; current world record)

Hollywood career

Lewis has appeared in numerous films and television productions. Among them, he played himself in cameos in Perfect Strangers and the little seen Speed Zone!, and was also seen in Material Girls, and Dirty Laundry, among others. explaining this was an honorary draft capitalizing on his popularity after the Los Angeles Olympics. There’s a poll on the same page where Lewis is second to Lucy Harris, the only woman to be drafted by the NBA, as the most unusual pick in the history of the NBA Draft.

* Though he did not play football in college, Carl Lewis was drafted as a wide receiver in the 12th round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys but he did not play.

* Singing the Star-Spangled Banner at a New Jersey Nets home basketball game against the Chicago Bulls on January 21, 1993, Lewis gave a notoriously bad rendition of the song when his voice began to crack at the line "and the rockets red glare." After promising "I’ll make up for it," he never did. The explanation given for the performance was being hoarse after singing at the White House inauguration ceremony for President Clinton the day before. His performance at the game became even more famous after ESPN Sports Center’s Charlie Steiner was unable to contain himself from laughing after a replay of the "highlight," which Steiner said must have been written by "Francis Scott Off-Key". One can also hear this ‘Lewis soundbite’ repeatedly made fun of on Jim Rome’s daily radio program as well as occasional plays on The Howard Stern Show. In footage of the programme festivities, Michael Jordan can be seen hanging his head in disgust at Lewis’ performance.

*  Lewis also made an appearance on "The Weakest Link."

*  Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was named after Carl Lewis.