TRENTON, NJ — Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis should be allowed to continue his bid for the New Jersey Senate because Republicans have failed to prove he doesn’t live in the state, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Administrative Law Judge John Schuster, III recommended that a petition to strip Lewis’ name from the June primary ballot be dismissed.

The judge cautioned that he had not found that Lewis, among the greatest athletes of all time, had attained residency status — only that the challengers didn’t meet the burden of proof that he lives elsewhere.

Lewis, who as a track star in the 1980s and ‘90s was noted for his blistering pace and dominance of the long jump and 100-meter dash, is a Democrat making his first run for elected office. Republicans challenged his bid to run in the primary by claiming he had not lived in the state the required four years.

The judge, who heard the case only a day before he issued his nonbinding decision, said the time constraints prohibited a record from being fully developed. That could be significant as his initial decision on Lewis’ political future is forwarded to Republican Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, who’s required to adopt, modify or reject it by Thursday’s deadline.

Pictured: Former Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, right, gets a hug and kiss from his mother, Evelyn Lewis after he announced his candidacy for a New Jersey state Senate seat in the 8th Legislative District