The USA's decision to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow denied a teenage Carl Lewis the chance to compete on the biggest stage of them all without too much expectation on his shoulders.
By the time that the Games rolled around four years later in Los Angeles, the pressure was on. At the age of 23, Lewis was seen as the favourite to win the top prize in all four of the events that he had qualified for.
Jesse Owens had previously won a quartet of golds and Lewis was keen to match that feat, not just for the success, but for the lucrative endorsement deals that surely would follow.
First up and on this day 29 years ago was the final of the 100m. This was viewed as Lewis's toughest challenge, such was standard of the field that he faced.
And with 50m of the race run, it appeared that his chances had gone up in smoke. It looked as though Lewis's rival and fellow countryman Sam Graddy was going to claim first spot, but in the closing stages Lewis hit the front, posting a time of 9.99 seconds in the process.
He would left Grady, who took silver, way behind in a time of 10.19 seconds, while Canada's Ben Johnson was third.
Lewis would go on to fulfil his ambition during the remainder of the Games, winning further golds in the 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump.
Liam Apicella
