The University of Houston has named nine-time Olympic Champion Carl Lewis as its new head coach to lead the track and field program. Joining him on his staff will be long time assistant coach Will Blackburn, who has been elevated as the director of track.
Lewis competed collegiality at the University of Houston from 1979-1980, and has spent the last eight years as an assistant under head coach and ex-teammate, Leroy Burrell.
“Will and Carl are both incredible representatives and products of the University of Houston, Houston Athletics and our track and field programs,” Vice President for Athletics Chris Pezman said in a statement.
“I am personally grateful for their leadership during this transitionary time. We are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber leading our program with Will doing so on the day-to-day side and Carl as head coach. They are two of the very best in the country.”
Lewis, who is one of the most decorated athletes in the world of track and field, first came to the University of Houston as a student-athlete in 1979. He competed for Tom Tellez. Tellez would go on to coach Lewis throughout his professional career.
“I am excited to continue with this staff on our journey to win a national championship,” Lewis said.
“We wanted to continue the legacy of Leroy Burrell and Tom Tellez and agreed this was the way to do it. Will and I have known each other for multiple years and are looking forward to leading this team to all the things we want to do and keeping the history and tradition of #HTownSpeedCity alive.”
Burrell leaves Houston after 23 years, leading a legacy which totals 44 individual conference championships along with 15 NCAA Champions and 11 Olympians.
As a freshman at the University of Houston, Lewis qualified for the Olympic team in the long jump. However due to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow 1980 Olympics, Lewis had to wait four years for his Olympic glory.
In 1996, in his final Olympics, Lewis had a dramatic farewell, winning his fourth-consecutive gold medal in the long jump.
At age 30, he had one of his greatest achievements, breaking the world 100m record with a time of 9.86 while winning the event at the 1991 World Championships.
At that same meet, he had one of his greatest disappointments, losing his long jump streak of 65 consecutive victories to Mike Powell.
It was an historic meet in which Lewis recorded his longest jump ever -- 29′ 1 1/4″ -- only to be bested by Powell, who would break Bob Beamon’s legendary record with a jump of 29′ 4 1/2″.
One of the world’s most memorable Olympics was the Seoul 1988 Games. Its unexpected outcome would rank as one of the most infamous sports stories of the century. It was the most anticipated 100m final since the Berlin 1936 Games, pitting Lewis against rival Ben Johnson.
Johnson won in 9.79 s, a new world record, while Lewis set a new American record with 9.92 s. Three days later, Johnson tested positive for steroids, his medal was taken away and Lewis was awarded the gold and credited with a new Olympic record.
Lewis’s accomplishments have led to numerous accolades, including being voted “World Athlete of the Century” by the International Association of Athletics Federations and “Sportsman of the Century” by the International Olympic Committee, and “Olympian of the Century” by Sports Illustrated.
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