Today in Performance Sneaker History: Carl Lewis Wins 2nd of 4 Gold Medals at '84 Olympics in Vintage Nike Spikes

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

On August 6, 1984, US track and field legend Carl Lewis won the long jump at the Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games, racking up his second gold medal of the event.

He would finish the '84 Summer Olympics with four gold medals: the 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100  m, and the long jump. Throughout his historic career, Lewis would go on to win 10 Olympic medals, 9 of them gold. He also earned 10 World Championship medals with 8 golds. However, the 1984 Olympics would prove to be the most successful event for Lewis, and it helped him to further break through as a national icon.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Lewis began with a win in the 100 m, followed by his win in the long jump which came on August 6. Because Lewis planned to endure over the course of the Olympics and match Jesse Owens' mark of four gold medals in a single event, he went "easy" on his opponent, he chose to pass on his remaining jump attempts after setting a mark of 8.54 which he deemed sufficient to win. This drew controversy, including audible boos from the audience, but Lewis shrugged it off by saying, "I was shocked at first. But after I thought about it, I realized that they were booing because they wanted to see more of Carl Lewis. I guess that's flattering."

Lewis was known to have somewhat of a rocky relationship with his endorsers, but in 1984, he was laced tightly in a pair of vintage Nike cleats. After the '84 Olympics, Lewis gained a reputation of being self-congratulatory and egotistical, which did not go over well with the public. Nike dropped him shortly after, and he spent the remainder of his career in Mizuno spikes.

RELATED: Sneakers That Defined the Olympic Spirit

RELATED:
The 50 Most Influential Sneaker Sponsorships in Sports History