Carl Lewis discus thrower Al Oerter of the United States, and later matched by U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps. Lewis's nine gold medals also tie him for second on the list of multiple Olympic gold medalists with Paavo Nurmi, Larisa Latynina, and Mark Spitz behind Phelps. Lewis' jump was also officially declared tied with Larry Myricks for the masters record for the 35–39 age group. Controversy struck when, as "Track and Field News" put it, "Lewis' attitude in the whole relay hoo-hah a few days later served only to take the luster off his final gold." After Lewis' unexpected long jump gold, it
Carl Lewis was noted that he could become the athlete with the most Olympic gold medals if he entered the 4 × 100 m relay team. Any member of the American Olympic men's track and field team could be used, even if they had not qualified for the relay event. Lewis said, "If they asked me, I'd run it in a second. But they haven't asked me to run it." He further suggested on "Larry King Live" that viewers phone the United States Olympic Committee to weigh in on the situation. Lewis had skipped the mandatory relay training camp and demanded to