USA TODAY's Chelsea Janes caught up with Lewis, 50, as he prepares for this weekend's Hershey's Track & Field Games in Hershey, Pa., where he is a spokesperson.
I'm so fortunate to have done what I love to do for so long, but the day I retired was one of the best days of my life. Not because I was happy to get away from the sport, but because it was clear in my mind that I had done all I possibly could, and that it was time to go.
What are you up to nowadays?
Well, first of all, I started my own foundation — the Carl Lewis Foundation — which works with kids with disabilities. I'm a U.N. (United Nations) ambassador, and I'm also now running for state senate of New Jersey.
And then a relationship with Hershey's and the Hershey's Games. And those games are so real, it's so emotional. These kids get here, maybe their first time on a plane, and they go to chocolate world, so they become friends. They go out, they want kill each other. Some cry losing, some win, but they're all friends right after. It's just so real. And stuff like that is what made me want to find other ways to keep helping out.
Once every 36 years, a local swim club hosts the Annual Burt German Tri-County Swimming Championships, the largest gathering of South Jersey athletes in one location each year. On Aug. 6 and 7, Cherry Hill’s Wexford Leas Swim Club proudly hosted the event. More than 4,000 swimmers from three counties participated.
Swimmers and their families thrilled at the appearance of Olympic Gold Medalist and champion Carl Lewis. Lewis told the children that he was once where they are now. He gave an inspirational speech that encouraged the children to always do their best.
I'm so fortunate to have done what I love to do for so long, but the day I retired was one of the best days of my life. Not because I was happy to get away from the sport, but because it was clear in my mind that I had done all I possibly could, and that it was time to go.
What are you up to nowadays?
Well, first of all, I started my own foundation — the Carl Lewis Foundation — which works with kids with disabilities. I'm a U.N. (United Nations) ambassador, and I'm also now running for state senate of New Jersey.
And then a relationship with Hershey's and the Hershey's Games. And those games are so real, it's so emotional. These kids get here, maybe their first time on a plane, and they go to chocolate world, so they become friends. They go out, they want kill each other. Some cry losing, some win, but they're all friends right after. It's just so real. And stuff like that is what made me want to find other ways to keep helping out.
Once every 36 years, a local swim club hosts the Annual Burt German Tri-County Swimming Championships, the largest gathering of South Jersey athletes in one location each year. On Aug. 6 and 7, Cherry Hill’s Wexford Leas Swim Club proudly hosted the event. More than 4,000 swimmers from three counties participated.
Swimmers and their families thrilled at the appearance of Olympic Gold Medalist and champion Carl Lewis. Lewis told the children that he was once where they are now. He gave an inspirational speech that encouraged the children to always do their best.
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