Not only did Carl lewis match Owens' olympic feat in 1984 (against stronger adversaries), HE ALSO PICKED UP FOUR CONSECUTIVE LONG JUMP OLYMPIC TITLES AFGAINST FORMIDABLE OPPOSITION AND THREE SUCCESSIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLES OVER 100M (1983, 1987 AND 1991). And he remains the only man ever to defend both an Olympic 100m title and a LJ Olympic title successfully. he has 9 golden mdals without the benefit of esoteric events like "3000m team" that permitted Paavo Nurmi to pick up 9 titles as well.
Somehow, when it comes to Lewis, who was recognized by the world of track and filed as the gretest all time track athlete, he is "hidden" in selections held within the USA. Perhaps Lewis knew what he was doing when he chose Europe for his main arean of activity. UG ----------------------- Quoting "Post, Marty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > According to a news item today Jesse Owens has finished 1-2 in a media > poll > to determine the greatest individual sports performance "in the USA" > [sic] > from 1901-2000. In nationwide voting for the Gillette 100 Greatest > Sports > Performances, Owens' four gold medal performance at the 1936 Olympics > in > Berlin finished first. His performance a year earlier at the Big Ten > Championships... finished second. Babe Ruth's 60 home runs in 1921 and > Lance > Armstrong's comeback from cancer to win the 1999 Tour de France tied > for > third. > > First off since Berlin and France are obviously not in the USA, I'm > guessing > what was really being picked was the greatest individual sports > performance > by an American athlete. > > Second, no disrespect meant to Owens, clearly one of the greatest > athletes > in history, but two performances better than say, Ali's Thrilla in > Manila > over Frazier or any number of Michael Jordan classics? > > Political circumstances were different in 1984, but Owens 4-golds were > matched by Lewis in the same exact events. And 60 home runs (even in a > slightly shorter schedule) wouldn't have even been good for the > runner-up > spot in the major leagues in both 1998 and 2000. > > Wonder what the folks who did this nationwide voting consider a great > individual sports performance? I'd like to see someone come even > remotely > close to hitting in 56 consecutive games, winning 13 PGA tournament > events > in a row, or averaging 50 points a game for a season (and 100 in one > game) > in the NBA ever again. > > > Marty Post > Senior Editor > Runner's World Magazine > www.runnersworld.com >
