Doping & Drugs ·
Ben Johnson’s Gold, Taken Away
At Seoul in 1988, Johnson beat Carl Lewis in 9.79 seconds. A positive test for stanozolol brought disqualification and a two-year ban; Johnson maintained his innocence.
Three days after Ben Johnson crossed the finish line ahead of Carl Lewis in the men’s 100 metres at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the International Olympic Committee stripped him of his gold medal and sent him home. Johnson had run 9.79 seconds, then tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.
On September 24, the Canadian sprinter had led the final from the start. He finished several metres clear of Lewis, slowing slightly near the line, looking across at his rival and raising an arm in triumph. His time was faster than the 9.83 seconds he had run to win the world championship in Rome the previous year. Lewis, who had won four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, initially took silver.
At the post-race news conference, Johnson said he could have run faster still. “If I had gone through I would have got 9.75—but I’m saving that for next year,” he told reporters. But in an interview with the BBC, he put the medal ahead of the record. “No one can take it away from me,” he said.
Urine samples taken immediately after the final were tested for drugs. Olympic officials subsequently confirmed that an anabolic steroid had been detected. Johnson was woken in the early hours and told that the IOC had decided to send him home. By September 27, he had arrived in Toronto and said he would appeal the verdict.
Johnson maintained his innocence, arguing that a drink he had consumed before the race had been spiked. The IOC said it would not accept that defence. His sister, Clare Rodney, told reporters she believed the drug testers had made a mistake. “I can really tell anybody from the depths of my heart that he is not guilty,” she said.
The disqualification gave Lewis his second Olympic 100-metre title. Johnson received a two-year ban from competition. The race he had won so decisively no longer brought him the prize he had said mattered most.
Canada’s prime minister, Brian Mulroney, called the decision correct while describing it as a tragedy for Johnson and a great sadness for Canadians. Canadian media labelled the sprinter a cheat. Those judgments stood alongside Rodney’s insistence that he was not guilty.
Linford Christie, who moved up from bronze to silver after Johnson’s disqualification, expressed sympathy for the man he called a “great ambassador” for the sport. “I’m also sad for athletics because this has been a bad day for us,” he said.