In a jaw-dropping display of athleticism in long jumps, one name reigns supreme- Carl Lewis. The track and field legend etched his name into the annals of track and field history multiple times, as he is among the only four athletes across the globe having 9 Olympic medals. The revered athlete has so much in his name that even after leaving the track and field, flashes of the accolades often lighten up moments. January 27th brought one such moment.

It was on this day forty years back, that etched Carl Lewis’ name forever in the annals of the track and field. A recent social media post recently brought back the memories of Lewis’ immortal act.

The leap that stands tall after four decades

On January 27 Costas Goulas posted a clip of Carl Lewis’ memorable jump in the 77th Millrose Games in 1984. The caption of the post says pretty much about the significance of the jump as it writes, “Let’s watch @Carl_Lewis as he flies out to a huge indoor WR of 8.79, still comfortably standing, at his final attempt to snatch a dramatic late win over Larry Myricks in the men’s LJ at the Millrose Games, New York, a good 40 years ago today.” One can not emphasize more on the word “dramatic” in the caption, given the situation in which the record was made.

On that fateful night of January 27, 1984, Carl Lewis was almost on the verge of loss in the long jump competition on the grand indoor stage of New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was not only a loss in just a single event. Lewis himself considered the event to be his stronghold. To add to it, he was on a 30-meeting winning streak in that event. The loss, apart from ending the streak, would have put a question mark on his authority in that discipline. The surroundings also added to the agony of Lewis.

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The plywood indoor runway with two loose boards at the start affected his rhythm. The cold weather also took a hit at Lewis. Owing to all these, he opened the competition with a miserable 6.77m. He improved it to 8.21m in round two. It was further raised to 8.30m in the penultimate round. As Lewis prepared for the last round, he was still sitting in the second position behind Larry Myricks, who beat Lewis in the US Indoor Championships in February 1981.

However, the true champion prevailed, as in the last round, he made a record-setting 8.79m jump to seal the victory while also preserving his winning streak. One surely wonders what Lewis was thinking while he was going in for that final sixth round.

The urge to uphold a true champion

Carl Lewis was asked what was playing in his mind during that very moment. His reply was something again for the records book, “I had to tell myself, ‘What if you’re in this situation at the Olympic Games? You have to be able to do it. You have to be able to come from behind. A true champion can win in any way’.” However, once the victory was sealed, the champ let his words flow.

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After the win, Lewis told, “Being able to come from behind is as important as winning…I had to respond. I had to jump well, and I had one jump to do it.” With all the enthusiasm, Lewis even made a lofty claim, “I’m really pleased that I came through. Now I think I can break the world record outdoors this year. I also think I can jump 30 feet (9.14m).” Unfortunately, that claim never saw the light. His 8.79m, however, stands comfortably till date.

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