Carl Lewis long jump controversy; this was because history's second 29 ft long-jumper was in the field: Robert Emmiyan had leaped at altitude in May, just 4 cm short of Bob Beamon's record. But Emmiyan's best was an leap that day, second to Lewis's . Lewis cleared four times. In the 4 × 100 m relay, Lewis anchored the gold-medal team to a time of 37.90 s, the third-fastest of all time. The 100 m final was the most talked about event and caused the most drama. Johnson had run under 10.00 s three times in the year before Rome, while Lewis
Carl Lewis Lewis won with relative ease. His behavior in winning this event stoked controversy, even as knowledgeable observers agreed that his tactics were correct. Since Lewis still had heats and finals in the 200 m and the 4 × 100 m relay to compete in, he chose to take as few jumps as necessary to win the event. He risked injury in the cool conditions of the day if he over-extended himself, and his ultimate goal to win four golds might be at risk. He knew that his first jump at was sufficient to win the event. He fouled on his