Carl Lewis wins fourth and last gold medal

The big news

Carl Lewis won his fourth and last gold medal in these Olympic Games with a record performance in the men’s 400-meter relay at the Coliseum. Lewis completed the final 100 meters in 8.94 seconds, as the team set a world record by finishing in 37.83 seconds. He accomplished his goal of matching Jesse Owens’ record of four golds in one Olympics set at Berlin in 1936. Lewis finished the 100 in 9.99 seconds, the 200 in 19.80 seconds, and the long jump at 28 feet 1/4 inch. But the word “showboat” was bandied about when Lewis’ name came up, and at least one member of that relay team was angry that Lewis got all the attention after the four-man victory. Lewis was unapologetic.

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The big surprise

By the end of the final day of boxing, the U.S. had won an unprecedented nine gold medals in a single Olympics, breaking Cuba’s record six in 1980. Among the winners: Mark Breland, Paul Gonzales, Pernell Whitaker, Henry Tillman and Tyrone Biggs. However, the U.S. boxer to go on to even greater fame, Evander Holyfield, settled for bronze after being disqualified for ignoring a referee’s whistle to stop.

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Update

Carl Lewis, now 48, retired from track and field in 1997 and works with the Carl Lewis Foundation, which helps support underprivileged youths. He told the New York Times in 2007, “No. I don’t want to go back. I had my time. I was in it for a long time. I did it all, and I don’t want to do it anymore. Now I’m doing a lot of other things.” Those things include acting and making personal appearances. He also gained some unwanted fame after singing the national anthem at an NBA game in 1993. He was booed for his rendition, during which he had trouble hitting the high notes. He later apologized for that performance.

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From the archives

“The notion that Evander Holyfield would have to sucker-punch anybody to win a medal is preposterous, least of all, Kevin Barry. He was so far ahead at the time, he would have won 5-0 if he hadn’t shown up for the last two rounds or dropped dead.”

-- Times sports columnist Jim Murray on Holyfield’s semifinal match that led to his being disqualified

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Spotlight on

Soccer. The French men’s soccer team defeated Brazil, 2-0, in front of 101,799 at the Rose Bowl. The average Rose Bowl attendance through 11 Olympic matches was 62,881. Both countries took home their first medal of any kind in Olympic soccer. In total, through 32 Olympic soccer games, the attendance was 1,421,627, with an average of 44,426 per game.

-- Mario Aguirre