Editing Carl Lewis (section)

===1988 Summer Olympics===
Lewis not only lost the most publicized showdown in track and field in 1987, he also lost his father. When William Lewis died of cancer at age 60, Lewis placed the gold medal he won for the 100&nbsp;m in 1984 in his hand to be buried with him. "Don't worry", he told his mother. "I'll get another one."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/lewiscarladd.html |title=ESPN Classic&nbsp;– More Info on Carl Lewis |publisher=Espn.go.com |date=November 19, 2003 |access-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref> Lewis repeatedly referred to his father as a motivating factor for the 1988 season. "A lot happened to me last year, especially the death of my father. That caused me to re-educate myself to being the very best I possibly can be this season", he said, after defeating Johnson in Zürich on August 17.<ref>''Track and Field News'', October 1988, vol. 41, #10, p. 25</ref>

At the [[1988 United States Olympic trials (track and field)|Olympic trials in Indianapolis]], Lewis won the 100 m finals in 9.78 s, which appeared to be a new world record. However, the race was determined to have been wind-aided, so the record did not count.<ref>{{cite news | last=Fachet | first=Robert | title=LEWIS' 28-9 EDGES MYRICKS IN OLYMPIC TRIALS LONG JUMP | date=July 19, 1988 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/07/19/lewis-28-9-edges-myricks-in-olympic-trials-long-jump/8a30e755-fe97-410a-962b-2d32399aab84/ | work=washingtonpost.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=1988 | access-date=December 30, 2024 | url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1988.pdf | work=trackandfieldnews.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media | date=July 27, 2018 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytvmcP6py_Q | title=Carl Lewis - Men's 100m - 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials | time=10:12 | via=YouTube }}</ref>

The [[Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 100&nbsp;meters|100&nbsp;m final]] at the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] was one of the most sensational sports stories of the year and its unexpected outcome would rank as one of the most infamous sports stories of the century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sptimes.com/sports100/index.shtml |title=St. Petersburg Times: Top 100 sports stories |publisher=Sptimes.com |date=April 30, 1993 |access-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref> In the Olympic finals, Johnson won in 9.79 s, a new world record, while Lewis set a new American record with 9.92 s. Three days later, Johnson tested positive for steroids, his medal was taken away and Lewis was awarded gold and credited with a new Olympic record.<ref>''Track and Field News'', November 1988, vol. 41 #11, p. 10–11</ref>

In the long jump, [[Robert Emmiyan]] withdrew from the competition citing an injury, and Lewis's main challengers were rising American long jump star [[Mike Powell (athlete)|Mike Powell]] and long-time rival Larry Myricks. Lewis leapt {{T&Fcalc|8.72}}, a low-altitude Olympic best, and none of his competitors could match it. The Americans swept the medals in the event for the first time in 84 years. In the 200&nbsp;m, Lewis dipped under his Olympic record from 1984, running 19.79 s, but did so in second place to [[Joe DeLoach]], who claimed the new record and Olympic gold in 19.75 s. In the final event he entered, the 4 × 100&nbsp;m relay, Lewis never made it to the track as the Americans fumbled an exchange in a heat and were disqualified.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/content/results-and-medalists/gamesandsportsummary/?sport=32588&games=1988%2f1&event=32568 |title=Athletics Results – Seoul 1988 – Olympic Medals |work=olympic.org}}</ref>

A subsequent honor would follow: Lewis eventually was credited with the 100&nbsp;m world record for the 9.92 s he ran in Seoul. Though Ben Johnson's 9.79 s time was never ratified as a world record, the 9.83 s he ran the year before was. However, in the fallout to the steroid scandal, an inquiry was called in Canada wherein Johnson admitted under oath to long-time steroid use. The [[IAAF]] subsequently stripped Johnson of his record and gold medal from the World Championships. Lewis was deemed to be the world record holder for his 1988 Olympic performance and declared the 1987 100&nbsp;m World Champion. The IAAF also declared that Lewis had also, therefore, twice tied the "true" world record (9.93 s) for his 1987 World Championship performance, and again at the 1988 Zürich meet where he defeated Johnson. However, those times were never ratified as records.<ref name="iaaf">{{cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf |title=12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009. |publisher=IAAF Media & Public Relations Department |access-date=August 7, 2009 |year=2009 |location=Monte Carlo |pages=Pages 546, 547 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806172743/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p345-688_11303.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref> From January 1, 1990, Lewis was the world record holder in the 100&nbsp;m.<ref>''Track and Field News'', November 1989, vol. 42, #11, p. 37</ref> The record did not last long, as fellow American and [[University of Houston]] teammate [[Leroy Burrell]] ran 9.90 s on June 14, 1991, to break Lewis's mark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/c-track/mtt/burrell_leroy00.html |title=Leroy Burrell Bio – University of Houston Athletics :: UH Cougars :: Official Athletic Site |work=uhcougars.com |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717201040/http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/c-track/mtt/burrell_leroy00.html |archive-date=July 17, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Lewis also permanently lost his ranking as number one for the 200&nbsp;m in 1988 and for the 100&nbsp;m in 1989.<ref name="200mranking"/><ref name="100mranking">{{cite web |url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/01-m100rank.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZQLmFUkG?url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/01-m100rank.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |title=World Rankings — Men's 100 |access-date=June 9, 2015}}</ref> He also lost the top ranking for the long jump in 1990 but was able to regain it in 1992.<ref name="ljworldrank"/>