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Track & Field -
NEWS
The following is an interview
which appeared in Sports Ilustrated online edition, SI.com on
Wednesday, September 11. Many-time Olympic Gold medalist was
severe of Usain Bolt and Jamaica, and critised the USA's
performance at the Olympics.
SI.com: It's been few weeks since
the Games; what do you think of Usain Bolt?
Lewis: I'm still working with the
fact that he dropped from 10-flat to 9.6 in one year. I think
there are some issues. I'm proud of America right now because we
have the best random and most comprehensive drug testing program.
Countries like Jamaica do not have a random program, so they can
go months without being tested. I'm not saying anyone is on
anything, but everyone needs to be on a level playing field.
SI.com: I don't want to put words
in your mouth, but are you accusing Bolt of possibly doing
something illegal in order to gain an advantage?
Lewis: No one is accusing anyone.
But don't live by a different rule and expect the same kind of
respect. They say, "Oh, we've been great for the sport." No, you
have not. No country has had that kind of dominance. I'm not
saying they've done anything for certain. I don't know. But how
dare anybody feel that there shouldn't be scrutiny, especially in
our sport?
The reality is that if I were
running now, and had the performances I had in my past, I would
expect them to say something. I wouldn't even be offended at the
question. So when people ask me about Bolt, I say he could be the
greatest athlete of all-time. But for someone to run 10.03 one
year and 9.69 the next, if you don't question that in a sport that
has the reputation it has right now, you're a fool. Period.
SI.com: So when Bolt broke three
world records and did it as easily as he seemed to, does that tip
you off?
Lewis: Let's be real. Let me go
through the list: Ben Johnson, Justin Gatlin, Tim Montgomery,
Tyson Gay and the two Jamaicans. Six people have run under 9.80
legally, three have tested positive, and one had a year out. Not
to say [Bolt] is doing anything, but he's not going to have me
saying he's great and then two years later he gets popped. If I
don't trust it, what does the public think?
SI.com: To be fair, you
reportedly tested positive three times before the 1988 Olympics
for banned substances, a ruling that was overturned by the USOC
due to inadvertent use.
Lewis: That was an issue where
people tried to make something out of nothing. It got thrown out.
I didn't lash out. They said I tested for stimulants found in
over-the-counter cold medications. That's it. I did nothing wrong.
SI.com: What were your overall
impressions of how Team USA did in Beijing?
Lewis: I was completely
embarrassed that the United States could not pass the baton. I've
been in track and field for 40 years and I've seen the baton
dropped 10 times, and we dropped it twice in the Olympics.
Look, I love Lauryn Williams, but
when I read she said the baton had a mind of its own, I honestly
said that girl needs to be committed. Are you kidding me? It was
her fault. And [Tyson Gay] shouldn't have been running, because he
was hurt. I'll give him all the credit in the world because he
never complained about his injury, so I got his back there. But he
couldn't drive out properly, and when he put his hand back, it was
sideways and you can't pass the baton like that. These are
mechanical mistakes that a coach didn't see in practice.
SI.com: I was surprised to read
IAAF President Lamine Diack recently say that Bolt winning three
gold medals in Beijing was more impressive than you winning four
in 1984 because he broke three world records and you only broke
one with the relay team. Did you see that?
Lewis: Yes, and I sent him an
e-mail. For him to make that judgment is wrong. He should talk
about Usain on his own merits. Secondly, I said one of the
problems in our sport is there is such an emphasis on records and
here you are, the president of the federation, talking about
records. The sport should be about competition.
You can compare us as sprinters,
but the thing I am most proud of is that I did multiple events and
I long-jumped. There is not a sprinter on the face of this Earth
that can long-jump. I tell people all the time that I wasn't a
sprinter that long-jumped, I was a long-jumper that sprinted, and
that's a fact.
SI.com: Would you ever consider
coaching?
Lewis: No. I'm not a coach and I
know it. I'm too busy and it doesn't pay. I'm expensive. But I
would always advise.
SI.com: How long is track going
to have this black cloud over it, where every broken record is
looked at with a skeptical eye?
Lewis: Until the athletes want to
change it. People forget that I was the first one to speak out
about Ben [Johnson], and I got crucified. A year later, I was a
prophet. The athletes have to say, "No, this isn't right." They
know who's on it. They need to step up.
I look at someone like [Jamaican
track star] Veronica Campbell-Brown, who lives in the United
States, and has been transparent and consistent. She won the
worlds last year in the 100 meters and this year she can't even
make the team? And you're going to tell me that shouldn't be
questioned?
SI.com: Do you think American
track athletes will ever get the fame and notoriety that you and
your counterparts did before drugs tarnished the sport?
Lewis: If the sport doesn't have
credibility, you're not going to get the sponsors. It has to come
from the inside out and America has to lead the way. We're
cleaning things up. But they have to go further. Other people have
to speak out.
Here's what angers me: Antonio
Pettigrew [a North Carolina assistant track coach who testified in
federal court that he took human growth hormone and EPO between
1997-2001 while winning the 4x400 relay gold in the 2000 Olympics,
a medal he returned in June] kept his job and he's coaching young
athletes. This is wrong. There have to be consequences for your
actions.
SI.com: You're one of the few
people who can understand what Michael Phelps is going through
since he's become an American hero and is thought of as possibly
the greatest Olympian ever. Do you see similarities or differences
in what he will have to endure outside of his sport?
Lewis: Michael is a great
athlete. I know him, so I'm really happy for him and all that, but
it changes everything. The unique difference, which I am so happy
about, is his sport is 100 percent behind him. Mine was the
absolute opposite.
SI.com: What's your take on
people trying to compare you and Michael in terms of being the
greatest Olympian?
Lewis: I've never been one to
compare eras in sports and you can't compare swimming to track and
field because there's no way in the world you can get as many
medals in track and field as you can in swimming. We can run one
or two relays; they can swim five. I didn't realize that of
Spitz's seven gold medals in Munich, three were relays. Five of
his nine golds were relays. I thought, "If I could run the 4x100,
4x200, and so on, I'd have this many medals." To me, it's not a
matter of saying I'm better. It's not even worth comparing. We
should just celebrate who he is and leave it at that.
SI.com: Even if the comparisons
might not be fair or even make sense in certain situations, aren't
you happy that you're name still comes up whenever there's a
discussion about the best Olympian or Olympic performances?
Lewis: Honestly, the farther I
get from competing, the clearer becomes the significance of what I
accomplished. When I was doing it, I don't want to say it wasn't a
big deal, but in my mind I was just like a person going to work
every day. Only 10 years later do you find out you invented
something your second year on the job that revolutionized your
business. I was at the Olympics in 2004 and Maurice Greene makes
this ridiculous comment that he's the greatest of all-time. All of
a sudden, people are asking me about that. Then Justin [Gatlin]
wins and can be the first to win the 100 and 200 since me. So here
we go again. It was the same thing this year with Phelps. Can he
win the most gold medals? Can Bolt win the 100 and 200?
We get caught up in comparing all
the time. I have this discussion with young people. They'll tell
me Beyonce is better than so-and-so. Why can't we just say that
Beyonce is amazing and so-and-so is amazing? I mean Ella
Fitzgerald is amazing. Sarah Vaughan is amazing. Whitney Houston
is amazing. Why do you have to say that Beyonce is better? Let's
just be happy that we had a chance to celebrate all of them.
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