Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson is a former Jamaican-Canadian sprinter who gained international recognition for his performances in the 1980s, particularly in the 100-meter race. Born on December 30, 1961, in Falmouth, Jamaica, Johnson immigrated to Canada in 1976. He initially faced challenges at school due to teasing and bullying but found solace and success in athletics. His career peaked in 1988 when he won a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics and set a world record with a time of 9.79 seconds. However, this triumph was overshadowed by controversy when he tested positive for the banned steroid Stanozolol, leading to the stripping of his medal and a two-year ban from competition.
Johnson attempted a comeback but faced further setbacks, including another positive drug test for testosterone that resulted in a lifetime ban from athletics. His post-competition life included a stint coaching the son of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi. Despite maintaining that he did not knowingly take steroids, Johnson's explanations have been met with skepticism, and his legacy remains contentious within the world of athletics.
Ben Johnson
Sprinter
- Born: December 30, 1961
- Birthplace: Falmouth, Jamaica
Contribution: Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was once considered the fastest man in the world. However, after tests revealed that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he was stripped of his titles and medals. His past achievements were considered the result of doping and therefore invalid.
Early Life and Education
Benjamin Sinclair Johnson was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, on December 30, 1961, and immigrated to Canada in 1976. A skinny, stuttering boy, Johnson was teased by others at school because of his accent. He was lonely and eventually turned to sports because it was an area in which he could achieve recognition.
Competition
In 1984, Johnson competed for Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the hundred-meter race and another as a member of the relay team. In 1986, he beat world champion Carl Lewis at the Goodwill Games in Moscow. Johnson’s time of 9.95 seconds was the fastest ever set at sea level and close to the world record set by Calvin Smith in Colorado Springs in 1983. In 1986, Johnson was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Canadian Press and received the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s outstanding athlete of the year.
Controversy
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Johnson won a gold medal and set a new world record in the hundred-meter final with a time of 9.79 seconds. The celebration was short lived, however. Officials tested his urine after the win, something they did routinely for winning athletes, and found evidence of Stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid, in Johnson’s system. Johnson was stripped of his medal and sent home from the games. He claimed he had not knowingly taken any drugs and surmised that an herbal drink he ingested before the race had been contaminated or spiked with steroids. Officials did not accept this explanation.
An investigation revealed that Johnson’s coach, Charlie Francis, and Dr. Jamie Astaphan were systematically providing steroids to Johnson. Johnson later testified under oath that he had taken steroids throughout his training and career. Because of this incident, Johnson was banned from competing for two years, and his previous medals and wins were stripped from him on the assumption that they were the result of doping.
An Attempted Return
In January 1991, Johnson began competing again, but he never reached the level of performance he had achieved earlier in his career. At the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, he did not make the hundred-meter finals; in fact, he finished last in the semifinals. In January of the following year, Johnson once again tested positive for a banned substance—this time, testosterone—at an indoor meet held in Montreal.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAFF) investigated this second instance of illegal performance-enhancing drug use and banned Johnson from competing for the rest of his life, thus ending his athletic career.
Life after Competition
Johnson disappeared from public view for most of the 1990s, reappearing briefly in 1999 when reporters discovered he had been hired by notorious Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi as a soccer coach for his son, Al-Saadi al-Qaddafi. Gadhafi managed to become a member of an Italian team but was fired after one game for failing a drug test.
In 2010, Johnson appeared as a panelist at a symposium about the future of Jamaican track and field. Speaking to reporters, Johnson maintained his story, saying that although he took other steroids, he did not take Stanozolol. Johnson once again said that he had been framed, claiming that his drink had been spiked with Stanozolol by a mystery man employed by rival sprinter Carl Lewis. He later told his version of the story in the memoir Seoul to Soul, self-published in 2010. In the book, written with New Age guru Bryan Farnum, Johnson claims that his rivalry with Lewis began in a past lifetime, when he was the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and Lewis plotted to usurp the throne by poisoning him. Johnson’s explanation of the doping incident is not widely accepted.
Regarding his admitted use of other steroids, Johnson has been unapologetic, saying that the steroids allowed him to train harder. He claimed that because other athletes used steroids, using drugs simply leveled the playing field. Other athletes disagreed and were offended by this statement, noting that Johnson sullied their reputations by claiming that the sport of track and field was a venue of cheaters and dopers.
Bibliography
Guttmann, Allen. The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Champaign: U of Illinois P, 2002. Print.
Hunt, Thomas M. Drug Games: The International Olympic Committee and the Politics of Doping, 1960–2008. Austin: U of Texas P, 2011. Print.
Johnson, Ben, and Bryan Farnum. Seoul to Soul. Johnson, 2010. Print.
Larson, James F., and Heung-Soo Park. Global Television and the Politics of the Seoul Olympics. Boulder: Westview, 1993. Print.
Moore, Richard. The Dirtiest Race in History: Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, and the 1988 Olympic 100M Final. London: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.