Steve Lewis

Before he even turned 20, Steve Lewis' name was already etched in the track and field history books. After a freshman year at UCLA that included Pac-10 and NCAA silver medals in the 400 meters, Lewis finished third in the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis to earn his spot on the U.S. team to compete at Seoul.

Winning his heat, quarterfinal and semifinal in Seoul, Lewis lined up for a final that featured world record holder Butch Reynolds, who had set that mark in Zurich a month earlier and had also won the Trials, and a familiar face -- Lewis' UCLA teammate, Danny Everett.

From the gun in the final, Lewis moved to the lead and coming off the final turn he held a half-stride margin over Everett. Reynolds closed with a mad dash to overtake Everett on the run to the line, but Lewis held both men off for the gold and stopped the clock at 43.87, .01 off the world record set by Lee Evans at Mexico City in 1968, but easily a world junior (U20) record. It was the fourth time in 1988 that Lewis broke the world junior record and he is still the youngest man ever to win the 400m at the Games.

Lewis added to his gold medal collection on the 4x400m relay, running the second leg with Everett leading off, Kevin Robinzine handling third leg and Reynolds anchoring. That quartet won by more than four seconds in 2:56.16, equaling the world record set by the U.S. team in '68.

After winning NCAA and U.S. titles in 1990, Lewis had one more taste of Olympic glory. At Barcelona in 1992, Lewis anchored the 4x400 to a world record 2:55.74 with a 43.5 split and took silver in the 400m in 44.21.

Injuries and illness curtailed Lewis' career after Barcelona, but his legacy was already set. Inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2004, Lewis currently works for Stryker, a medical device and equipment manufacturing company. He and his wife, Tamala, have two daughters -- Ashley, who ran track at UCLA, and Sienna.

National Track & Field Hall of Fame Q&A: Steve Lewis