How many world records has Carl Lewis broken? A look at the exploits of the legendary track and field athlete

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 20, 2024 06:30 GMT

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Carl Lewis needs no introduction. He is one of the most decorated sprinters from USA, with ten Olympics medals to his name.

Carl Lewis has broken multiple world records in the sprint, relay as well as the long jump, with the indoor long jump record unbroken even today. He recently opened up on breaking the 100 m at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, and how tough it was for him.

However, 100 m is not the only event where Lewis broke records, having done so in various disciplines. Here are some other world records that were broken by the American during his glittering career as a track and field athlete.

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#5) Men's Outdoor Long Jump [in 1991]

This has to be perhaps the most unique record set by Carl Lewis, since it is not the only shortest, but also a legally unacceptable world record.

How? In 1991, during the finals at the Tokyo World Championships, Carl Lewis was neck to neck with Mike Powell in the Men's Long Jump event.

Lewis was well on the course to prove that his claim of breaking the long standing world record of Bob Beamon was not nonsense. Till the third jump, his best jump was 8.83 m, and he was well ahead of Mike Powell. In the fourth try, Carl Lewis had almost done it, his jump was recorded at 8.91 m, a centimeter ahead of Bob Beamon's record of 8.9 m set at Mexico City Olympics.

However, Carl Lewis' jump wasn't accepted, since the conditions were too windy, and the jump was term as 'wind assisted'. However, as the wind subsided, Mike Powell, who was a distant 2nd, leaped forward to 8.95 m, breaking Bob Beamon's record and setting a new world record, unbroken till date.

#4) Men's Indoor Long Jump [in 1984]

Ever heard of an Olympic champion being booed by the crowd for winning the event? Well, Carl Lewis is one of those rare athletes to achieve the distinction?

But why? During the beginning of 1984, Carl Lewis had once claimed that he would go on to break Bob Beamon's record in the long jump. He almost proved his credentials at an indoor athletic meet in 1984, where he jumped to 8.79 m, a record that stands even today. Lewis had broken his own indoor world record by 23 cm. His previous best was 8.56 m, which he had set at an athletic meet in New Jersey in 1982.

Carl Lewis making the leap [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source: Getty]

However, Carl Lewis couldn't repeat the heroics at LA 1984, which is why he was booed despite winning the gold medal in the men's long jump.

#3) Men's 4 x 200 m Relay [In 1989, 1992 & 1994]:

Carl Lewis may not have broken the long jump record, but he loved the relays. At an athletic meet in 1989, he led the American team to a historic timing of 1 minute 19.38 seconds.

Carl Lewis of the USA in action during relay [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source: Getty]

The American team further broke the record in 1992 and 1994. In fact, the timing of 1 minute,18.68 seconds remained unbroken for a full two decades, until a Jamaican team led by Yohan Blake broke it in 2014.

#2) Men's 4 x 100 m Relay [In 1983, 1984, 1991 & 1992]:

In 1983, at Helsinki World Championships, Carl Lewis led the American relay team to history. The men's 4 x 100 m relay team clocked a historic timing of 37.86 seconds. For the first time in the history of track and field, any athletic team had managed to complete the relay under 38 seconds.

Carl Lewis in action [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source: Getty]

However, Carl Lewis didn't stop at that. He further led the team to a historic performance at Los Angeles Olympics, breaking their own record by 0.03 seconds. The American team further broke their record in 1991 & 1992. The relay timing of Carl Lewis' relay team at Barcelona Olympics 1992 remained unbroken until Berlin World Championships in 2009, when Usain Bolt's Jamaican team clocked 37.31 seconds.

#1) Men's 100 m [In 1983, 1988 & 1991]:

This was one region where Carl Lewis achieved both instant fame and notoriety. In 1983, Carl Lewis made the world take notice when he clocked 9.93, which equaled the world record at that time.

Carl Lewis of the USA in action at Los Angeles Olympics 1984 [Image Source: Getty]

At 1988 Seoul Olympics, Carl Lewis bettered his timing by clocking 9.92 seconds. However, that was not enough as Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson clocked a shocking 9.79 seconds to win the Olympic gold medal. It was another matter that his gold medal was revoked only a few days later due to evidence of using performance enhancing drugs like stanozolol.

With that, Carl Lewis' 9.92 seconds became the new world record, which was broken in 1991 by Leroy Burrell. However, Carl Lewis regained the world record by clocking 9.86 seconds at the World Championships held in Tokyo. This world record stood for 3 years, until Leroy Burrell broke it again in 1994.