Editing Carl Lewis (section)

====Long jump showdown versus Powell====
The 1991 World Championships are perhaps best remembered for the long jump final, considered by some to have been one of the greatest competitions ever in any sport.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2001/world_athletics/1451929.stm |title=2001 Has A Lot To Live Up To |publisher=BBC News |date=July 27, 2001 |access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref> Lewis was up against his main rival of the last few years, [[Mike Powell (athlete)|Mike Powell]], the silver medalist in the event from the [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Olympics]] and the top-ranked long jumper of 1990. Lewis had at that point not lost a long jump competition in a decade, winning the 65 consecutive meets in which he competed. Powell had been unable to defeat Lewis, despite sometimes putting in jumps near world-record territory, only to see them ruled fouls<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatf.com/athletes/bios/TrackAndFieldArchive/2001/Powell_Mike.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120915075634/http://www.usatf.com/athletes/bios/TrackAndFieldArchive/2001/Powell_Mike.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |title=Mike Powell |publisher=Usatf.com |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref> or, as with other competitors such as Larry Myricks, putting in leaps that Lewis himself had only rarely surpassed, only to see Lewis surpass them on his next or final attempt.<ref>''Track and Field News'', September 1988, vol. 41 #9, p. 18–19</ref><ref>''Track and Field News'', August 1991, vol. 44 #8, p. 14–15</ref>

Lewis' first jump was {{T&Fcalc|8.68}}, a World Championship record, and a mark bested by only three others beside Lewis all-time. Powell, jumping first, had faltered in the first round, but jumped {{T&Fcalc|8.54}} to claim second place in the second round.<ref name=USATF20041119>{{cite web |url=http://usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2004_11_19_09_16_23 |title=USATF – News |work=usatf.org |access-date=August 8, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014065923/http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2004_11_19_09_16_23 |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Lewis jumped {{T&Fcalc|8.83}}, a wind-aided leap, in the third round, a mark that would have won all but two long jump competitions in history. Powell responded with a long foul, estimated to be around {{T&Fcalc|8.80}}. Lewis's next jump made history: the first leap ever beyond Bob Beamon's record. The wind gauge indicated the jump was wind-aided, so it could not be considered a record, but it would still count in the competition. {{T&Fcalc|8.91}} was the greatest leap ever under any condition.<ref name=USATF20041119/>

In the next round, Powell responded. His jump was measured as {{T&Fcalc|8.95}}; this time, his jump was not a foul, and with a wind gauge measurement of 0.3&nbsp;m/s, well within the legal allowable for a record. Powell had not only jumped 4&nbsp;cm further than Lewis, he had eclipsed the 23-year-old mark set by Bob Beamon and done so at low altitude.<ref name=USATF20041119/> Lewis still had two jumps left, although he was now no longer chasing Beamon, but Powell. He leaped {{T&Fcalc|8.87}}, which was a new personal best under legal wind conditions, then a final jump of {{T&Fcalc|8.84}}. He thus lost his first long jump competition in a decade.<ref>''Track and Field News'', November 1991, vol. 44, #11, p. 30–31</ref> Powell's {{T&Fcalc|8.95}} and Lewis's final two jumps still stand as of July 2024 as the top three low altitude jumps ever. The farthest anyone has jumped since under legal conditions is {{T&Fcalc|8.74}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/jumps/long-jump/indoor/men/senior |title=Long Jump All Time List |publisher=IAAF |access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref>

Lewis' reaction to what was one of the greatest competitions ever in the sport was to offer acknowledgment of the achievement of Powell.<ref name=USATF20041119/> "He just did it", Lewis said of Powell's winning jump. "It was that close, and it was the best of his life."<ref>"29–4½! Soaring Powell Conquers Beamon's Record", The New York Times, August 31, 1991</ref> Powell did jump as far or farther on two subsequent occasions, though both were wind-aided jumps at altitude: {{T&Fcalc|8.99}} in 1992 and {{T&Fcalc|8.95}} in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics/u-s-a/mike-powell-1114/long-jump-world-record-and-two-world-championship-golds_a09564/ |title=Mike POWELL – U.S.A. – Long Jump world record and two World Championship golds. |work=Sporting Heroes |access-date=January 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115201719/http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics/u-s-a/mike-powell-1114/long-jump-world-record-and-two-world-championship-golds_a09564/ |archive-date=January 15, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Lewis's best subsequent results were two wind-aided leaps at {{T&Fcalc|8.72}}, and an {{T&Fcalc|8.68}} under legal conditions while in the qualifying rounds at the Barcelona Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carllewis.com/carlstats7.html |title=Carl Lewis Career Facts & Statistics -LEWIS' 28 FOOT JUMPS |date=October 10, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021010214507/http://www.carllewis.com/carlstats7.html |archive-date=October 10, 2002 |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref>

In reference to his efforts at the 1991 World Championships, Lewis said, "This has been the greatest meet that I've ever had."<ref name=TFN1191>''Track and Field News'', November 1991, vol. .44, #11, p. 8</ref> ''Track and Field News'' was prepared to go even further than that, suggesting that after these Championships, "It had become hard to argue that he is not the greatest athlete ever to set foot on track or field."<ref name=TFN1191/> Lewis's 1991 outstanding results earned him the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s [[Wide World of Sports (U.S. TV series)|Wide World of Sports]] Athlete of the Year, an award he shared with gymnastics star [[Kim Zmeskal]].