15 greatest Olympians to appear on a Wheaties box

2. Carl Lewis, Track & Field

Given Carl Lewis’s family lineage, the sprinter’s emergence as an elite athlete was hardly surprising.

He was born to William and Evelyn Lewis, becoming the latest in a family of natural athletes that excelled at track & field. His mother was hurdler at the 1951 Pan-Am Games, while his father established himself as one of the more well-respected coaches in the sport. Lewis was not the only sibling to enjoy a successful international track and field career, either. His sister, Carol, would go represent the United States in the long jump at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after winning bronze in the same event at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

But regardless of his remarkably athletic family history, nobody could have predicted the dominance that Lewis would exert over his Olympic competition.

Lewis gave the host country something to remember at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, emulating Jesse Owens by claiming gold medals in all four events he competed in. Over the course of the next three Olympic Games, bringing his gold medal count to nine — tied for the most in Olympics history at the moment.

By the time Lewis’ legendary career come to a close, he had cemented a legacy that was borderline untouchable. In addition to gaining widespread recognition as the greatest male track & field athlete in United States Olympic history, he appeared on Wheaties’ cereal box twice — following his record-setting inaugural Olympic campaign in 1984, and again in 2004 well after his retirement.

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