Carl Lewis
The US athlete and Olympic gold medalist discusses his perseverance to succeed both on and off the track.
US athlete Carl Lewis helped transform the sport of track and field in the 1980s by propelling his talents to international fame through world records and Olympic gold medals.
As a dominant sprinter and long jumper, Carl Lewis has won ten Olympic medals and ten World Championship medals during his career between 1979 and 1996.
His world record in the indoor long jump has stood since 1984, and his 65 consecutive victories in the long jump achieved over a span of ten years is one of the sport’s longest undefeated streaks.
Born into a competitive family of athletes, Carl Lewis was coached by his father during his youth and then moved to the University of Houston where he met his life-long coach Tom Tellez from thereafter.
He began setting track and field records in high school and first qualified for the US Olympic team in 1980, which forever influenced the direction of his life.
This episode of One on One can be seen from Saturday, December 4, at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0730, 2330; Sunday: 0300; Monday: 0630; Tuesday: 1230.