IN THE summer of 1984, the gaze of the sporting world was on the Olympics that took place in Los Angeles. America aimed to deliver a spectacle that would strike an ideological blow in its Cold War with the communist Soviet Union, who led a boycott of the event in reply to America staying away from the Moscow games, four years before. Their withdrawal was followed by Cuba, East Germany, Bulgaria and other Eastern Bloc nations.
Carl Lewis was the star-spangled superstar who dominated the headlines as America got behind his audacious attempt to emulate the great Jessie Owens and win four gold medals in track and field. Lewis delivered in style and his country lavished
