Olympic track and field star Carl Lewis opens up about the “wear and tear” his career had on his psyche and on his personal life in a new documentary.
The 10-time Olympic medal winner, 63, reveals in I’m Carl Lewis that he’s never been in a long-term relationship because he feared it would affect his professional aspirations. The documentary, premiering at SXSW and screening at the festival March 7, 9 and 12, was directed by Julie Anderson and Chris Hay.
“I’ve never had really a private adult life, and I haven’t really had an in-depth, long-term relationship to this day. I thought that it would hurt my career,” he says. “I’m sure I’ve met 50 people that were incredible in my lifetime. But because of that, I had to shun them away. And I know that on the outside, it can be kind of sad, and I can understand that, but that’s just the way it is.”
Between 1984 and 1996, Lewis twice helped the U.S. win gold in the men’s 4x100m and collected nine Olympic gold medals, making him one of only four athletes to do so. (He also won a silver medal in Seoul in 1988.) Despite his athletic prowess, Lewis was often portrayed negatively in the media.
Carl Lewis at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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After breaking out as a star in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, where he won four gold medals, he was criticized as arrogant and for openly seeking financial compensation as an amateur athlete. He further stirred the pot by embracing his feminine side, both on and off the field.
Lewis’ recent insights into his personal life follow decades of rumors about his sexuality, which he says “have been just nonstop my whole career.”
Ahead of his final Olympic run in Atlanta in 1996, Lewis says, he knew he would make headlines when he agreed to wear red stilettos while posing in a runner’s stance for a 1994 Pirelli ad that was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
The image, which he says “looks incredible,” led some to “go after the whole gay thing.” But, Lewis adds, he wasn’t affected at the time because he thought, “I’m in an incredible space in life.”
“I hope it empowered everyone,” he continues. “The more I think about it, the prouder I am.”
Carl Lewis at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
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In the documentary, Lewis notes that the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where Ben Johnson beat him in the 100-meter dash but was later disqualified for drug use, was a particularly difficult time for him mentally. He recalls later receiving a “wrinkled” medal “underneath the stadium,” adding, “It felt like they pulled it out of [Johnson’s] hand.”
“After the Olympic Games in ’88, I was worn out,” he says. “It did leave a lot of wear and tear on me emotionally. I didn’t really get my total mojo back for a while because I was just beat down from that experience.”
“Mentally, I started to question everything. It was like, ‘What was the point?’ ” he continues. “Track and field dominated every aspect of my life, and everything else was secondary.”
