Lewis Streaks On, Making a Pit Stop of 27-1 3/4 at Forum

Carl Lewis has yet to reap the endorsement riches he envisioned during last summer’s Olympics, but his travel agent isn’t doing badly.

A week ago tonight, Lewis was in Dallas winning the 60-yard dash in the Dallas Times Herald indoor meet.

He returned to his Houston home Sunday but was in Eugene, Ore., Monday to receive the Steve Prefontaine Award in honor of his 1984 successes.

Lewis returned to Houston Tuesday, then went to New York, where he was honored Wednesday night with the Jesse Owens Award as 1984’s Athlete of the Year.

He took a plane to Los Angeles Thursday to prepare for Friday night’s Times/Kodak indoor meet at the Forum, after which he caught a red-eye for New York and tonight’s indoor meet at East Rutherford, N.J.

If Lewis has given in to jet lag, it wasn’t evident at the Forum, where the winner of four gold medals was airborne long enough and far enough to score his 40th straight victory in the long jump.

The Lewis streak, which began in 1981, is one shy of the event record, set by two-time national champion George Brown in 1950, ’51 and ’52.

Lewis registered his latest victory with a 27-foot 1 3/4-inch jump, breaking the meet record of 26-4 3/4 set by Ralph Boston in 1965. It came on his first jump, after which his final five efforts included two fouls and a best of 26-7.

This was Lewis’ first competitive appearance here since the Olympics, when he was booed by a Coliseum crowd and criticized by the media for failing to pursue Bob Beamon’s world record after winning the long jump with his first legal jump.

This time, Lewis was greeted warmly by a crowd of 14,021. There were no boos as Lewis received a Track & Field News Award as the sport’s male athlete of the year early in the program. There were no boos when he was reintroducted before his event.

Lewis responded by saluting the fans after he had received the Track Field award.

“You made it happen,” he said over the public-address system, alluding to the enthusiasm that surrounded the Olympics.

“I think it’s only fitting that I receive this award in Los Angeles,” he added, “because this is where my lifetime hopes were fulfilled.”

While the spotlight was on Lewis, three noted members of Romania’s Olympic team made successful returns to Los Angeles.

Doina Melinte, who won a gold in the 800 meters and a silver in the 1,500, rallied on the last lap to win the women’s 1,000-yard run in 2 minutes 25.97 seconds. The Soviet Union’s Irina Podyalovskaya, who had the world’s best time in the 800 last year, finished third behind the early leader, Diana Richburg of the Troy Gazelles.

Melinte’s teammate, Anisoara Cusmir-Stanciu, who won the Olympic long jump and holds the women’s world record of 24-4 1/2, won her specialty at 20-9 3/4, while the third Romanian, Fita Lovin, winner of a bronze in the Olympic 800, won the 1,500 in 4:13.6.

A renowned Soviet pole vaulter, Konstantin Volkov, wasn’t so successful. Volkov, ranked second in the world last year and a consistent 19 foot vaulter, failed to clear the opening height of 17-6 1/2. Dan Ripley of the Pacific Coast Club won the pole vault at 18-4.

In other highlights:

--Ireland’s Ray Flynn, who has the second best indoor mile time (3:51.20) won his speciality in 3:56.16. Jack Buckner was second in 3:58.07, setting a British indoor record.

--Johnny Gray of the Santa Monica Track Club held off the late charge of world indoor record-holder Don Paige to win the men’s 1,000 in 2:08.21. Last year, Gray broke the U.S. record in the 800 four times.

--Dennis Lewis of the New Balance Track Club won a high jump jump-off with Canada’s Milt Ottey at 7-5 3/4. Jimmy Howard, who recently set an American indoor record of 7-8, was third ast 7-2 1/2. The Soviet Union’s Vladimir Granenkov, who had a career best of 7-7 3/4 in winning in last year’s Friendship Games, the Eastern Bloc’s alternative to the OLympics, was ninth in 7-1 1/2.

--Henry Andrade of SMU, second in the NCAA 110-meter high hurdles last year, won the 60-yard high hurdles in 7.08. The renowned Greg Foster was forced to withdraw because of the flu, World Class AC coach Bob Kersee said.

--Alice Brown, continuing to take advantage of a pregnant Evelyn Ashford’s absence from the indoor scene, maintained her 1985 sprint dominance by easily winning the 60-yard dash in a career best 6.63. Said Brown, who now attends Cal State Northridge: “My time was unbelievable. I had absolutely the worst start I’ve ever had. I almost fell. I had to come up scrambling and really press it.”

--Darwin Cook of USC, the 1984 Pac-10 100-meter champion, won the men’s 60 yard dash in 6.15, edging 1984 indoor champion Emmit King, who was timed in 6.17. Neither Calvin Smith, the world record-holder at 100 meters, nor Mel Lattany, who had the world’s best time in the 100 last year, qualified for the final.

--Valerie Brisco-Hooks, maintaining the momentum she established by winning three gold medals in the Olympics, easily won the 500-yard run in 1:04.26.

--USC freshman Yvette Bates opened the meet by establishing a world indoor best in the women’s triple jump. Bates, who went to Berkeley High, did 43-1. The previous best of 42-7 1/2 was set two weeks ago by Esmeralda Garcia of Brazil. This is only the second year that women have competed in the triple jump.