more than a decade prior , carl lewis stood on the pinnacle of what was to become the greatest athletics championship in decades . he had just broken two of the legendary jesse masters ' college records , but never believed he wouldn become a corporate icon , the focus of hundreds of millions of dollars in money . his sport was still nominally professionals . fifteen olympic and world championship gold medals and 21 world records later , lewis has become the richest man in the history of track and field - - a multi - millionaire .
Carl Lewis won eighteen gold medals and set 21 world records.