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Gold rush II King Carl not certain about Maid Marion's quest
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Carl Lewis, winner of nine Olympic gold medals, thinks that Marion Jones never should be in the position of trying to win five golds at the Sydney Games. "It's unfair that her camp or her people put her in that situation - to have to run two relays," Lewis said Friday. Jones is attempting to win golds in the 100 and 200 meters, 400 and 1,600 relays and the long jump. The two relays will be contested on the final full day of track and field, and Jones is inexperienced at running the long relay. Lewis can empathize with her. He went for four golds in 1984, in the 100 and 200, 400 relay and long jump, and won them all. "It was a lot easier for me because it was in Los Angeles," Lewis said. "I knew the city well. We just parked ourselves somewhere and drove to the stadium. Things were totally different in Barcelona (in 1992) and in Seoul (in 1988). It's nice when you're able to navigate around and the people speak English." While there is much hype surrounding Jones' bold bid, Lewis said his record-equaling attempt "wasn't that big a deal going in." "I tried to keep life simple,' he said. 'If I trained hard every day, I knew I would be OK. Coach (Tom) Tellez had a plan and I just followed it." Still, his try to match Jesse Owens' four golds in the same events at the 1936 Berlin Games also received widespread publicity. "It was strange being on the cover of magazines for nine months," Lewis said. "After the first couple of weeks, I didn't go to the store. "It was strange seeing Car and Driver and there was someone staring at you. Very strange." Lewis admitted that his life changed considerably after his remarkable achievement. "At the end of 1983, a lot of people recognized me," he said. "After 1984, everybody recognized me." He didn't mind all the attention. "Ninety-nine percent of the people were nice to me," he said. "They were very polite. It's different, but you adjust. It's part of the maturation process. There's no better learning experience. "I was only 23. I was just a baby then." Lewis won't make any predictions on how Jones, 24, will fare. "I don't want to put any pressure on her," he said. 'It's not fair. There's too much pressure."
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