Born in Birmingham Ala. on July 1 1961 Frederick Carlton “Carl” Lewis is acknowledged by many as the world’s greatest track and field athlete of all time. He competed in four Olympics and it would have been five had it not been for the American team boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games. He won nine Olympic gold medals and one silver over from 1984 to 1996. At the 1984 L.A. Games he achieved his goal of winning four track & field gold medals in a single Olympics just as the great Jessie Owens had done in Berlin in 1936. As great a sprinter as Lewis was he stands alone as the most accomplished long jumper ever taking first place at 65 consecutive meets during one stretch that lasted over a decade. He remains the only man to successfully defend an Olympic long jump title and stills has 14 of the 20 furthest jumps ever recorded.

In addition to his Olympic success Lewis won eight World Championship gold medals plus multiple Pan American and Goodwill Games golds. As a testament to his unparalleled athleticism he was drafted in 1984 by both NBA and NFL franchises even though he did not play either sport in high school or college.Topping the list of his numerous awards Lewis was voted “Sportsman of the Century” in 1999 by the International Olympic Committee and “Olympian of the Century” by Sports Illustrated.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Carl Lewis won gold in both the long jump and 4x100m relay for Team USA. Presented here is a pair of Lewis' well-worn track spikes gifted to the Catalan woman who cleaned his rental home and assisted him during his month-long stay for the '92 Games. Apparently Lewis did not stay in Olympic Village with his U.S. teammates opting to lodge 20km outside Barcelona in the town of Castelldefels. According to the woman Lewis told her he wore these spikes in Barcelona and left them as a gift of thanks. Our research indicates these spikes were most likely worn only in training in Barcelona as the white spike plate on the bottom is a different color than those worn in Olympic competition for the long jump or 4x100m (unless he wore these in a 4x100m prelim heat). This pair does the exact style (Getty 106670669) Lewis wore at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis (June 19-28) a month earlier where he qualified for his third straight Olympics.

The featherweight Mizuno signature model spikes come in white with a florescent yellow and orange design and black logos. They show a ton of use and have "C. Lewis" stamped on the outer heel along with "100" written in black marker on both insoles. No size is indicated but they appear to be in the appropriate 9-10 range. Also included is Carl's blue Mizuno "RunBird" spike bag labeled "C. LEWIS" in black marker.

Includes letter of provenance from the brother-in-law of Carl Lewis' house-cleaner and personal assistant during the 1992 Barcelona Games. Digital photo of the two together is attached.