HE MAY BE one of the most successful track athletes of all time, but Carl Lewis is now ready to try his hand at a different kind of race.
The nine-time Olympic gold medallist – who made made his name as the fastest man on the planet in the 1980s – announced yesterday that he will seek election to the New Jersey State Senate in the forthcoming November elections.
Lewis has put his name forward for the Democratic primary in the state’s 8th District, describing himself as “the people’s candidate” and telling those assembled that he wants to challenge and change “a culture of mediocrity, where people think it’s okay to be average.”
Although he has no formal political experience, Lewis has volunteered as a track coach in the past, a job which he feels has given him an understanding of what it is that makes local communities tick.
“I have foot experience, I have community experience, I have talking to kids experience,” he said.
Most importantly, the 49-year-old stressed that he is deadly serious in his commitment to a future in politics, dismissing any suggestion that he might have been parachuted into the state by the Democrats as a novelty candidate.
When I run, as you see from my record, I run to win.My vision is inspiring people, bringing families together.
Lewis won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and sprint relay across four different Olympic Games in the 1980s and 1990s, starting with a four-gold haul in Los Angeles in 1984 and finishing up with long jump gold at the Atlanta games in 1996.
