THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 10 : Carl Lewis Wins His First Gold : His 28-7 1/2 Leads U.S. Sweep in Long Jump

SEOUL — The 100 meter duel with Canada’s Ben Johnson behind him, Carl Lewis returned to his more familiar perch atop the Olympic victory stand Monday, winning a gold medal in the long jump.

It was the fifth gold medal for Lewis, who won four in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In winning this one, he became the first man ever to repeat in the Olympic long jump.

Lewis, who won with a jump of 28-7 1/2, led an American medal sweep. Mike Powell of West Covina, formerly of UC Irvine, finished second at 27-10, and Larry Myricks of Ontario finished third at 27-1 3/4.

Italy’s Giovanni Evangelisti, who returned the bronze medal that he was awarded in the 1987 World Championships in Rome, after it was discovered that Italian officials cheated on one of his measurements to move him ahead of Myricks, was fourth at 26-6.

Lewis began the long jump competition 55 minutes after he ran the second round of the 200 meters, qualifying easily for Wednesday’s semifinal.

The schedule had been a point of contention since it was announced. Originally, Lewis had less than half an hour between the two events, and he claimed it would be impossible for him to compete in both.

But officials of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), which governs track and field, and the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee came to his rescue, moving the start of the long jump final back by almost half an hour for his benefit.

A further concession was made Monday. Although Lewis was supposed to be the first of the 12 finalists to jump, officials allowed him to go last after he finished the 200 meters.

Refreshed somewhat, Lewis took the lead on his first jump, 27-7, and extended it on his second to 28-1.

But after the third jump, when the field was cut to the first eight, Lewis was told that the original order would be restored and that he would have to jump first in the ensuing three rounds.

An unidentified competitor apparently protested because the order was changed for the first three rounds.

That gave Lewis only 5 minutes between his third and fourth jumps, and he threatened at one point to walk off the track.

Later, after he regained his composure, he said that he was supposed to have at least 10 minutes between jumps.

“That’s the rule,” he told an official. “You came to me and asked me to jump 12th (in the first three rounds) because of the 200.

“I can’t jump in 5 minutes. That’s not fair, that’s not fair.

“I’m not shouting. I’m just saying I can’t jump.”

He, however, did jump in the assigned order, although the argument lasted considerably longer than 5 minutes. If he was distracted by the controversy, it didn’t bother him on his fourth jump. That was his best jump.