Episode Details

Carl Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals and set world records that stood for years. He was also booed at the 1984 Olympics by his own home crowd. The greatest track athlete of his generation was also one of the least loved, and the reasons had as much to do with personality as performance.

This episode covers Lewis from his athletic family in New Jersey through his pursuit of Jesse Owens' record, the doping scandals that tainted his rivals, and the public perception gap between his achievements and his popularity.

• He won nine Olympic gold medals and one silver across four consecutive Olympic Games
• He was booed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics for passing on long jump attempts to conserve energy
• His 1991 world record in the 100 meters stood as one of the greatest sprint races ever run
• Several of his competitors were later stripped of medals for doping violations