Carl Lewis 1996, Lewis qualified for the Olympic team in the long jump for the fifth time, the first time an American man has done so. At the Atlanta Olympics, injuries to world-record holder Mike Powell and the leading long-jumper in the world, Iván Pedroso, affected their performances. Lewis, on the other hand, was in good form. Though he did not match past performances, his third-round leap of won gold by over second-place finisher James Beckford of Jamaica. He became the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times (and one of only four), joining Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm and
Steve Lewis (sprinter) and then slashed this time the following day, when he won his semi-final in 44.11. Despite this performance, Lewis could only finish third in the final in 44.37, having been well beaten by his older compatriots, Butch Reynolds and his UCLA teammate, Danny Everett. In the Olympic Games at Seoul, Reynolds was the clear favourite to win the gold medal, and few people took Lewis' chances seriously, but in the Olympic final Lewis set a fast pace in the early stages while Reynolds held back. Although Reynolds closed near the finish, Lewis held on to win in 43.87, still the