Ben Johnson (athlete)

Benjamin Sinclair "Ben" Johnson (born December 30, 1961) was a Canadian athlete, best known for his disqualification for doping use after winning the 100 m final in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Olympic scandal

At the 1987 World Championships, in Rome, Johnson gained instant world fame when he beat Lewis for the title, setting a new world record of 9.83 seconds as well. Johnson and Lewis were also the favourites for the 1988 Olympic title. On September 24, Johnson beat Lewis in the final, clocking a new world record of 9.79 seconds. However, Johnson's urine samples were found to contain steroids (namely stanozolol), and he was disqualified three days later.

Related Topics:
1987 - World Championships - Rome - 1988 - September 24 - Steroid - Stanozolol

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He later admitted having used steroids when he ran his 1987 world record, which caused the IAAF to delete that record from the books as well. But Johnson and hundreds of other athletes have long complained that they used doping in order to remain on an equal footing with the other top athletes on drugs they had to compete against.

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His claim bears some weight in light of the revelations since 1988. Including Johnson, four of the top five finishers of the 100-meter race have all tested positive for banned drugs at one point or another. They are Carl Lewis, who was given the gold medal, along with Linford Christie who was moved up to the silver medal, and Dennis Mitchell. Of these, only Johnson was forced to give up his records and his medals, although he was the only one of the four who tested positive or admitted using drugs during a medal-winning performance. Later, Christie was caught using steroids and banned. According to documents released in 2003 by a former senior US anti-doping official, Dr. Wade Exum, Lewis and two of his training partners all took the same three types of banned stimulants (ones found in over-the-counter cold medicine), and were caught at the 1988 US Olympic trials, which is the competition used to select the US athletes that will compete in the Olympics.

Related Topics:
Carl Lewis - Linford Christie - Dennis Mitchell - Over-the-counter

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Johnson's coach, Charlie Francis, a vocal critic of the IOC testing procedures, is the author of Speed Trap, which features Johnson heavily. In the book he freely admits that his athletes were taking anabolic steroids, as all top athletes are, but also shows why Ben Johnson could not possibly have tested positive for that particular steroid.

Related Topics:
Charlie Francis - Anabolic steroids

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In 1991, after Johnson's suspension he attempted a comeback, but without much success. In 1993, he was found guilty of doping at a race in Montreal, and was subsequently banned from the sport for life by the IAAF.

Related Topics:
1991 - 1993 - Montreal - IAAF

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His disqualified world record 100 m time of 9.79 seconds was not surpassed until September 14, 2002, by Tim Montgomery.

Related Topics:
World record 100 m - September 14 - 2002 - Tim Montgomery

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Johnson also briefly acted as trainer for Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona in 1998.

Related Topics:
Argentine - Soccer - Diego Armando Maradona

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