Lewis taking stance

Carl Lewis wants to turn back the clock on his sport.

Lewis, 45, professes no desire to return to the track. But the 10-time Olympic medalist as a sprinter and long jumper does want track and field to regain some of its prestige, and he is working at the grass-roots level for change.

"Honestly, it's in trouble," Lewis said yesterday. "When I see poker on TV and don't see track and field on TV, that's a problem for me."

Speaking at the US Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center, Lewis announced his commitment to collaborating with USA Track & Field and the Hershey Company to change perceptions and provide opportunities for youngsters.

"Like-minded people make it happen," Lewis said. "You can sit on the sidelines or you can get in the trenches and do something.

"Where it is [the status of track and field] isn't the issue. We can build it back to where it was, where people understand the athletes. And I can be part of it because people know me, if we work with the powers that be."

Lewis said he has been out of the picture for 10 years, describing himself as "a businessman and actor," working on films and television projects in California and his own foundation "to try to get kids healthier and focus on youth."

"They reached out to me," Lewis said of USA Track and Field. "Together, we can really build the sport in a lot of ways. And not just by getting it on TV.

"My parents were teachers and coaches. We didn't have cable or computers, so we actually had to create our own games. Kids still want to be active, and track and field is the best way to reach out to kids, to give them a program to stay fit and healthy.

Lewis said this is an important time for the sport to move forward. "This is an opportunity to seize the moment, to use the platform we have. This is a huge participant sport, and I would love to look back at this as a time when track and field took a turn for the better.

"This program gets down to what in my heart I believe in, and that's making a difference in young people's minds. No question it can be turned around quickly. Kids learn the principles between ages 9 and 14, and it sticks with you the rest of your life."

Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals and a silver.

"They always forget my silver and that's the hardest one I lost," Lewis said.

He also won 10 medals at the World Championships.

As a competitor, Lewis attempted to take a stand against performance-enhancing drugs. Now, he said, he will provide a sounding board for competitors wishing to do the same.

"The vast majority are clean and do it right," Lewis said. "A minority create problems for the sport. I want to give [competitors] a forum to do the right thing. The vast, vast, vast majority do the right thing and don't do drugs. They love to be in the sport and to compete against the best, but they don't know who to go to [as a sounding board]. I remember when it was amateur and now they call themselves professionals.

"But the real issue for the sport is, there are so many great things going for it, it's that [the athletes] are able to speak out for what they believe in. They say that stories focus on the negative, and they need to be able talk about the great things, there are a lot of wonderful things about the sport."

Asked if he would want to be competing now, Lewis said, "No. I explain it to people like this. I loved high school, but I sure don't want to go back. I don't know many records [that still stand]. It was my time and it's their time now. You need to do your best and then it's time to move on.

"I work out and stay in shape. But I have no desire to compete again. I did it and I don't need to do it again."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.