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
Athletics in Jamaica since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first to do so in world record times. He also became the second Jamaican to win two gold medals at a single Olympic Games, after George Rhoden in 1952. The same day, Melaine Walker won the women's 400 m hurdles event in a new Olympic Record time of 52.64 seconds, breaking the old mark set in 1996 by Deon Hemmings. On 21 August, Jamaica completed a clean-sweep of all the individual sprints (100 and 200 m), and confirmed the nation's dominance when Veronica Campbell-Brown successfully defended her Olympic 200 m title winning the