Mennea had a very large family of 3brothers and a sister.                                                                                                                                                          As a child Mennea was very lively and playful,  he was also nice and friendly. After middle school he continued his studies to become an accountant. A curious anecdote tells that at the age of 15, on a narrow street in Barletta, he challenged a 

Porsche and an Alfa Romeo 1750 on 50 meters, beating both and earning 500 lire to pay a ticket to the cinema or a sandwich.

He graduated in Bari in political science. He fell in love with athletics. Mennea won:100m,200m,300m,400m,4x100m,4x200m,4x400.                                                                                                                                                              He made the European and Italian record in the 200m/100m which would be 19"30.

  In all he won: 18 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals. 

Surname:   Lewis

 Born: July 1, 1961
 Birmingham, Alabama
 

Born on July 1, 1961, in Birmingham, Alabama, Frederick Carlton Lewis is the son of two star athletes who attended Tuskegee Institute. His father, Bill, ran track and played football; his mother, Evelyn, was a world-class hurdler (a runner who jumps over a series of hurdles) who represented the United States at the 1951 Pan-American Games. By the time Carl, the third of four children, was born, his parents were coaching young athletes in track and field events.

When Carl was still young, his family moved to Willingboro, New Jersey. There his parents worked as high school teachers and founded the Willingboro Track Club. Lewis was not as talented as his brothers and sister, and his parents encouraged him to pursue music lessons instead. He kept working and practicing the long jump in his back yard, determined to improve. Small and skinny, Lewis competed in track meets, losing far more than he won. Still, his dedication and confidence caught the eye of Jesse Owens himself at a meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Owens urged other children to follow the example of the "spunky little guy." When he graduated from Willingboro High School in 1979, Lewis was the top-ranked high school track athlete in the country.

What’s Lewis’s most important achievement?

Carl Lewis was one of track and field's greatest performers any time 

Carl Lewis in 1984 became the first African American athlete since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win four gold medals in Olympic competition. 

He won nine gold medals in four straight Olympics and 1 silver medal to complete his collection.

He also won 8 Gold medals, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze at World Athletics champion.
Do you know any fact or curiosity about him?

Carl Lewis is from several point of view one of the coolest Athletes ever;

After Jessie Owen who won 4 Olympic medals in front of Adolf Hitler in Berlin 1936

Carl was the first African American to win 4 medals in same OG, Los Angeles 1984.

However, the reason why we like him is that he won and sometimes he lost, but he is always the only Wind’s son: his elegance is widely recognized. On Youtube it is still possible to see his performances and it is amazing to see him.

He reached world peak in both sprint and long jump;

He won titles in 100 meter, 200 meter, long jump and relay.

As before said He was ‘’skinny’’; 

He was tall and skinny, contrary to the other athletes, who were mainly muscled like bodybuilders:

on  that period doping practice was largely used as was the case of Ben Johnson after Seul Olympic games.

But what makes him outstanding is the rivalry with Ben Johnson.

Carl, tall and skinny and American and Ben short ,muscled like a bodybuilder and Canadian;

It was a perfect challenge.

Seul 1988 , 100 meters final: the eyes of the world were on two athletes as the other 6 finalist were only outline. Lane 3 and lane 4, one close to each other.

Edoardo ‘’ My father said one of the most emotional race ever seen ‘’.

Carl started slowly,  Ben like a gun and after 9.83’’ sec Ben beat Carl;