©Getty David Cannon

Family name:McHinley Lewis
Given names:Frederick Carlton (known as “Carl”)
Nickname:King Carl
Date and place of birth: 1 July 1961 in Birmingham (Alabama, USA)
Nationality: American
Olympic medals:
Los Angeles 1984: gold in the long jump, 100m, 200m and 4x100m
Seoul 1988: gold in the long jump and 100m, silver in the 200m
Barcelona 1992: gold in the long jump and 4x100m

Atlanta 1996: gold in the long jump

Carl Lewis wore this shoe in the 100m at the Games in Los Angeles, and his signature can be seen on the top. At these Games, Carl Lewis equalled the amazing record set by Jessie Owens at the 1936 Games in Berlin by winning four gold medals at the same Games (100m, 200m, 4x100m and long jump).

“King Carl” continued his medal harvest at the 1988 Games in Seoul, where he won the long jump and the 100m, after the astonishing disqualification of Ben Johnson, and won silver in the 200m. Four years later, at the Games in Barcelona, he won two more gold medals, in the 4x100m and long jump. He ended his amazing Olympic career by winning a final long jump gold medal, aged 35, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

In doing so, Carl Lewis joined the highly elite club of athletes who have won nine gold medals at the Olympic Games. These include runner Paavo Nurmi (FIN), gymnast Larissa Latynina (RUS) and swimmer Mark Spitz (USA).