Wanting to give back, Lewis volunteers as coach
Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis has joined the University of Houston track and field program as a volunteer coach, coach Leroy Burrell said Thursday.
“To have that type of name recognition and excellence associated with the program only enhances the training environment, credibility with our athletes and marketability with our recruits,” Burrell said.
Lewis, 52, has been involved with his alma mater for the past 14 years while traveling between Houston and Philadelphia, but this is the first time he will assume a fulltime volunteer role with UH. He will work with sprinters and jumpers.
“I tell people all the time that if I didn’t go here, you wouldn’t know me,” Lewis said. “I was a kid who was very good in high school, one of the best recruits from New Jersey, but there’s no way I would have progressed without the University of Houston and the coaching staff.”
Lewis is regarded as one of the world’s greatest athletes, having won 10 Olympic medals, including nine gold, in four Summer Games appearances from 1984-96 in Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta. In Los Angeles in 1984, Lewis won four gold medals in the 100, 200, 400 relay and long jump.
At UH, Lewis was a six-time All-American, winning six national championships and nine individual conference titles in two seasons. He holds the school record for the indoor 55-meter dash (6.07 seconds) and both the indoor (28 feet, 1 inch) and outdoor (28 feet, 3½ inches) long jump.
Lewis and Burrell were members of the U.S. 400 relay team that broke the world record during the 1992 Olympics.
UH also announced throws coach Will Blackburn has been promoted to associate head coach.