July 29, 1996

Michael Johnson is an easy winner in the 400 meters at the Olympics, but the headlines go to Carl Lewis. Though past his peak, the 35-year-old Lewis still has enough spring left in his legs to uncork a leap 27 feet, 10+ inches into a stiff headwind and win his fourth straight gold medal in the long jump before a crowd of 82,773 fans in Atlanta.

"You try to give a man a gold watch, and he steals your gold medal instead. You ask him to pass the torch, and he sets your Olympics on fire," Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly writes about Lewis. The unexpected and stunning victory gives Lewis his ninth Olympic gold medal, tying him for the largest gold collection with U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz, Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina. Lewis also joins discus thrower Al Oerter as the only track and field athlete to win the same event in four consecutive Olympics.

Earlier, Johnson set an Olympic record of 43.39 seconds in winning his 55th straight 400-meter final. His margin of victory (.92 seconds) is the largest since 1896. In three days, Johnson will make Olympic history, becoming the first man to win the 200-400 double as he runs an astonishing 19.32 seconds in the 200.