BTOCKHtm: July 6: American track legend Cari Lewis makes what will almost certainly be his farewell appear

ance in Europe when he competes in the DN games here on Monday, reports AFP.

The 36-year-old, who will be leading the Santa Monica 4x100 relay team, has recovered from an Achilles injury that spoilt his US farewell in Eugene. Oregon last May.

Lewis, along with club mates Mike Marsh. Leroy Burrel and Floyd Heard, have already run the fastest 4x100m of the year but it will be a night for emotion rather than records for Lewis.

Lewis will finally quit the sport he has dominated later this year with runs in Australia and New Zealand, brining to an end to a career that saw him rise to become the greatest athlete in the modem era.

Lewis equalled the two of the greatest achievements in Olympic athletics. His four gold medals in the 1984 Games matches Jesse Owens' four in Berlin In 1936.

When he won the long Jump in Atlanta 12 years later, he Joined discus thrower Al Oreter as the only person to win the same event in four Olympics.

Lewis was denied a chance to win five long Jump golds, and perhaps another relay gold, by president Jimmy Carter's decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

But his total of nine Olympic Sd’medals is equalled only by

tance legend Paavo Nurmi of Finland.

Before 1980, 10.00 seconds had been broken only twice in the 100 metres. Lewis has since dipped under 10.00 15 times six more than his two closest rivals, Leroy Burrel and Linford Christie, nine more than his

of Canada. *

"Cari Lewis is bigger than the sport,” said Joe Greene, bronze medalist behind Lewis in the 1996 Olympic long Jump.

"Carl Lewis pretty much set the standard for what it is to be a great athlete."

But while the Swedish fans will give Lewis an emotional send off it will be three Kenyan's who threaten to turn the meeting into a spectacular world record busting evening.

Wilson Kipketer, now a nationalised Dane, is poised to break the 16-year-old 800m record of Britain's Sebastian The 26-year-old Kipketer came within one hundredth of a second of Coe's 1:41.73 last year at Rieti and from then it has only been a matter of when rather than if. the record will be broken.

Kipketer is in a class of his own. at the world indoor championships .in Paris earlier this yeaf hd did the unbellev- -able of breaking the indoor world record twice — once in the heats and then in the final.

Daniel Komen is looking to break the world 5.00m record currently held by arch-rival Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia, to add to his 3,000m title.

The 21-year-old Just missed the 5,000m record in Zurich last year by 0.70 of a second and he is determined to finally dethrone Gebreselassie, who himself shattered the 10,000m record in Oslo on Friday.

The triple world record bid here, with 50,000 dollars for each record, is completed by Moses Kiptanui who is looking to beat his own record in the 3.000m steeple.

In the 100 metres Ato Boldon, who has clocked the fastest time this year with a 9.98 in Modesto, is looking to cash in on the absence of world record holder Donovan Bailey

Looking to upset Boldon will be American Maurice Green who won the American championships in Indianapolis last month along with Mike Marsh, who finished third in the US trials.