Carl Lewis Plans to Run 100 Heats, but May Bypass Final at Cerritos

Carl Lewis, Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter dash, may run only in the 100 heats at the USA/Mobil national championships, which begin Tuesday at Cerritos College, because he’s not in top condition, his manager said Monday.

The world record-holder in the 100, Lewis has not been training full time because he took time off to write his autobiography, due out later this month.

“He’s in fair shape, but he hasn’t been running,” said Joe Douglas, Lewis’ manager. “So we’re going to go one heat at a time. He may go the entire time and he may run in the finals. But nothing is definite. If he’s sore and something happens then he’s going to stop. If he’s not sore then he’ll probably continue.”

Lewis hadn’t planned to compete in the national championship meet because of a longstanding feud with The Athletic Congress, which sponsors the meet. However, athletes must compete in it if they want to compete in the Goodwill Games at Seattle in August. The top two finishers in each event of the national championship meet automatically qualify, and other athletes may be invited if they have run in the national championships.

Lewis hopes to compete in the Goodwill Games and TBS, which is televising the Goodwill Games, has been promoting his presence at the meet.