Carl Lewis

American track and field athlete who moved into Olympic history in Los Angeles in 1984 by matching Jesse Owen's all time record of four Gold Medals. He received the awards for the long-jump, 100 m dash, 200 m dash and the 400 m dash. In the Atlanta Olympics, 1996, he won Gold in the long jump and placed 3rd in the 100 m Van Damme Memorial.

Altogether, Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, when he last won an Olympic event. He is one of only three Olympic athletes who won a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games.

He is a member of a black, all-American family with two brothers, Mackie and Cleve, and a sister, Carol, who are all champions. Mackie, born in 1955, holds the country record in the 200 m. and Cleve, born 1956, is a winner of All American soccer at college. His baby sister Carol was the winner of the Bronze Medal at the World Games in Helsinki for holding the record on the indoor long jump.

His folks ran a track club from the time Carl and Carol were seven and five, respectively. The two kids were inseparable as youngsters, and Carol would follow her big brother to track meets.

A showman and exceptional athlete, he burst onto the scene in 1979 as a long jumper. Carl had an unbroken streak of 65 straight wins in the long jump before losing to Mike Powell in 1991. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he won the 100 m dash. At Barcelona, 1992, he won his third Gold Medal in the Long Jump. A superstar sprinter as well, he spent a decade as the world's fastest man. He reached an astonishing 28 mph to win the 100 m dash during the 1984 games.

After retiring from his athletics career, Lewis became an actor and has appeared in a number of films. In 2011, he attempted to run for a seat as a Democrat in the New Jersey Senate, but was removed from the ballot due to the state's residency requirement.