Born in Los Angeles, California, Steve Lewis took up track at with the Los Angeles Jets youth track club under the direction of Ronald Moore and later went to Banning High School. He transferred to American High School in Fremont, California, following his sophomore year, where he graduated in 1987. While at American he competed in track and field and still holds the Mission Valley Athletic League record in the 400 meters. He won the CIF California State Meet in 1986 and 1987.[1] He would go on to attend UCLA. As a freshman at UCLA, Lewis had a spectacular year in 1988, when the precocious 19-year-old not only completely rewrote the world junior all-time list in the 400 m, but also proved his mettle in senior competition by winning the Olympic gold medal.
Lewis had not been a total unknown prior to 1988, having set a personal best of 45.76 at the 1987 USA national junior championships, but he caught many unawares when he won his quarter-final at the USA Olympic Trials with new world junior record of 44.61, 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 United States, North American and World junior record. Steve won a second gold medal three days later, as a member of the victorious USA 4 × 400 m relay team which equalled the world record of 2:56.16 that had stood since the 1968 Olympics.
By the end of 1988, Lewis had run what still rank as 7 of the top ten junior 400 metre races of all time.[2]
In 1992, Lewis, once again, competed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona and won a silver medal in the 400 m and a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay, which broke the world record (2:55.74) that Lewis had previously helped tie in the 1988 Olympic Games.
The rest of Lewis' career was affected by injury and an ongoing viral illness, and he never again competed at a major international championships.
steve, lewis, sprinter, this, article, about, american, 400m, runner, british, pole, vaulter, steven, lewis, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains,. This article is about the American 400m runner For the British pole vaulter see Steven Lewis This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Steven Earl Lewis born May 16 1969 is a former American track and field athlete winner of three gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics Steve LewisPersonal informationNationalityAmericanBorn 1969 05 16 May 16 1969 age 53 Los Angeles CaliforniaHeight6 ft 2 in 1 88 m Weight185 lb 84 kg SportCountry United StatesSportTrackEvent s 400 metresCollege teamUCLA BruinsClubSanta Monica Track ClubMedal record Men s athleticsRepresenting the United StatesOlympic Games1988 Seoul 400 metres1988 Seoul 4 400 metres relay1992 Barcelona 4 400 metres relay1992 Barcelona 400 metresBorn in Los Angeles California Steve Lewis took up track at with the Los Angeles Jets youth track club under the direction of Ronald Moore and later went to Banning High School He transferred to American High School in Fremont California following his sophomore year where he graduated in 1987 While at American he competed in track and field and still holds the Mission Valley Athletic League record in the 400 meters He won the CIF California State Meet in 1986 and 1987 1 He would go on to attend UCLA As a freshman at UCLA Lewis had a spectacular year in 1988 when the precocious 19 year old not only completely rewrote the world junior all time list in the 400 m but also proved his mettle in senior competition by winning the Olympic gold medal Lewis had not been a total unknown prior to 1988 having set a personal best of 45 76 at the 1987 USA national junior championships but he caught many unawares when he won his quarter final at the USA Olympic Trials with new world junior record of 44 61 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 United States North American and World junior record Steve won a second gold medal three days later as a member of the victorious USA 4 400 m relay team which equalled the world record of 2 56 16 that had stood since the 1968 Olympics By the end of 1988 Lewis had run what still rank as 7 of the top ten junior 400 metre races of all time 2 In 1990 he won NCAA Championships in the 400 m and went on to win the US Track and Field Championships in the same event In 1992 Lewis once again competed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona and won a silver medal in the 400 m and a gold medal in the 4 400 m relay which broke the world record 2 55 74 that Lewis had previously helped tie in the 1988 Olympic Games The rest of Lewis career was affected by injury and an ongoing viral illness and he never again competed at a major international championships Lewis was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004 In 2019 he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame 3 References Edit California State Meet Results 1915 to present Hank Lawson Archived from the original on 2014 10 06 Retrieved 2012 12 25 400 Metres men u20 outdoor https www usatf org news 2019 the year s best athletes performances and hall of External links EditSteve Lewis at World Athletics Fremont s Lewis stuns fast 400 fieldRecordsPreceded by Darrell Robinson Men s World Junior Record Holder 400 metres22 May 1988 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Steve Lewis sprinter amp oldid 1104541985, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
