Benjamin Sinclair "Ben" Johnson, CM OOnt is a Jamaican-born Canadian former
sprinter, who won two Olympic bronze medals and an Olympic gold medal, which
was later rescinded. He set consecutive 100 metres world records at the 1987
World Championships in Athletics and the 1988 Summer Olympics, but he was
disqualified for doping, losing the Olympic title and both records.
Biography = Career background=
Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, Johnson immigrated to Canada in 1976, residing
in Scarborough, Ontario. Johnson met coach Charlie Francis and
joined the Scarborough Optimists track and field club, training at York
University. Francis was a Canadian 100 metres sprint champion himself and a
member of the Canadian team for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Francis was
also Canada's national sprint coach for nine years.
Johnson's first international success came when he won two silver medals at
the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia. He finished behind Allan
Wells of Scotland in the 100 m with a time of 10.05 seconds and was a member
of the Canadian 4x100 m relay team. This success was not repeated at the 1983
World Championships in Helsinki, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals,
finishing 6th with a time of 10.44. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los
Angeles, he reached the 100 m final; after false starting, he won the bronze
medal behind Carl Lewis and Sam Graddy with a time of 10.22. He also won a
bronze medal with the Canadian 4x100m relay team of Johnson, Tony Sharpe,
Desai Williams and Sterling Hinds, who ran a time of 38.70. By the end of the
1984 season, Johnson had established himself as Canada's top sprinter, and on
August 22 in Zurich, Switzerland, he bettered Williams' Canadian record of
10.17 by running 10.12. In 1985, after eight consecutive losses,
Johnson finally beat Carl Lewis. Other success against Lewis included the 1986
Goodwill Games, where Johnson beat Lewis, running 9.95 for first place,
against Lewis' third-place time of 10.06. He broke Houston McTear's
seven-year-old world record in the 60 metres in 1986, with a time of 6.50
seconds. He also won Commonwealth gold at the 1986 games in Edinburgh, beating
Linford Christie for the 100 m title with a time of 10.07. Johnson also led
the Canadian 4x100 m relay team to gold, and won a bronze in the 200 m.
On April 29, 1987, Johnson was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada.
"World record holder for the indoor 60-meter run, this Ontarian has proved
himself to be the world's fastest human being and has broken Canadian,
Commonwealth and World Cup 100-meter records," it read. "Recipient of the
Norton Crowe Award for Male Athlete of the Year for 1985, 'Big Ben' was the
winner of the 1986 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete."
By the time of the 1987 World Championships, Johnson had won his four
previous races with Lewis and had established himself as the best 100 m
sprinter. At Rome, Johnson gained instant world fame and confirmed this
status when he beat Lewis for the title, setting a new world record of 9.83
seconds as well, beating Calvin Smith's former record by a full tenth of a
second. After Rome, Johnson became a lucrative
marketing celebrity. According to coach Charlie Francis, after breaking the
world record, Johnson earned about $480,000 a month in endorsements.
Johnson won both the Lou Marsh Trophy and Lionel Conacher Award, and was named
the Associated Press Athlete of the Year for 1987.
Following Johnson's defeat of Lewis in Rome, Lewis started trying to explain
away his defeat. He first claimed that Johnson had false-started, then he
alluded to a stomach virus which had weakened him. Finally, without naming
names, Lewis said "There are a lot of people coming out of nowhere. I don't
think they are doing it without drugs. " This was the start of Lewis' calling on
the sport of track and field to be cleaned up in terms of the illegal use
of performance-enhancing drugs. While cynics noted that the problem had been
in the sport for many years, they pointed out that it didn't become a
cause for Lewis until he was actually defeated, with some also pointing to
Lewis's egotistical attitude and lack of humility. During a controversial
interview with the BBC, Lewis said: There are gold medallists at this meet
who are on drugs, that [100 metres] race will be looked at for many years, for
more reasons than one. Johnson's response was:
When Carl Lewis was winning everything, I never said a word against him. And
when the next guy comes along and beats me, I won't complain about that either.
This set up the rivalry leading into the 1988 Olympic Games.
In 1988, Johnson experienced a number of setbacks to his running career. In
February of that year he pulled a hamstring, and in May he aggravated the
same injury. Meanwhile, in Paris in June, Lewis ran a 9.99. Then in Zurich,
Switzerland on August 17, the two faced each other for the first time since the
1987 World Championships; Lewis won in 9.93, while Johnson finished third in
10.00. "The gold medal for the 100 meters is mine," Carl Lewis said. "I
will never again lose to Johnson." = Olympic win and subsequent
disqualification= On September 24, 1988, Johnson became
the first sprinter from Canada since Percy Williams in 1928 to win the 100m
final at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, lowering his own world record to 9.79
seconds. Johnson would later remark that he would have been even faster had he
not raised his hand in the air just before he finished the race. However,
Park Jong-sei of the Olympic Doping Control Center found that Johnson's
blood and urine samples contained stanozolol, and he was disqualified
three days later. He later admitted having used steroids when he ran his
1987 world record, which caused the IAAF to rescind that record as well. Johnson
and coach Francis 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. In testimony before the Dubin inquiry into drug use, Francis charged
that Johnson was only one of many cheaters, and he just happened to get
caught. Later, six of the eight finalists of the 100-meter race tested
positive for banned drugs or were implicated in a drug scandal at some
point in their careers: Carl Lewis, who was given the gold medal, Linford
Christie, who was moved up to the silver medal and who went on to win gold at the
next Games, Dennis Mitchell, who was moved up to fourth place and finished
third to Christie in 1992, and Desai Williams, Johnson's countryman who won a
bronze medal at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. In the ESPN documentary 9.79*,
eventual silver medallist Christie states, and footage of the race shows,
that Lewis "ran out of his lane... two or three times" during the race, which
should have resulted in Lewis' automatic disqualification.
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 he
claims all top athletes at the time were, and also claims that Johnson could
not possibly have tested positive for that particular steroid since Johnson
actually preferred furazabol. He thought stanozolol made his body "feel tight".
The numerous athletes using performance-enhancing drugs at the time
understood how long before a race, and possible drug test, they should stop
using the drugs. Johnson later claimed that André A. Jackson, Lewis' Santa
Monica Track Club teammate, who was inside the drug testing room in Seoul,
may have placed the stanozolol in one of the beers Johnson drank in order to make
urine for his test. The Canadian reaction
Canadians rejoiced in the reflected glory of winning the gold medal and
breaking the world record. Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
watched Johnson set the new world record and after the race congratulated him
over the phone. "It's a marvellous evening for Canada," Mulroney said in
the televised conversation. Newspapers covered the occasion by
concocting words such as "Benfastic" to describe it. Two days later, Canadians
witnessed the downfall of Johnson, when he was stripped of his gold medal and
world record. Mark Tewksbury, a Canadian Olympic swimmer hung a bed sheet banner
out of his Olympic Village apartment window expressing 'Hero to Zero in
9.79'. In the first week following the dethroning, Canadian newspapers devoted
between five to eight pages a day to the story. Some squarely placed the blame on
Johnson, such as one headline right after the exposure suggests: "Why,
Ben?". Because of the Olympic scandal, the
Canadian news agency Canadian Press named Johnson "Newsmaker of the Year"
for 1988. The Dubin Inquiry
After the Seoul test, he initially denied doping, but, testifying before
the 1989 Dubin Inquiry, a Canadian government investigation into drug
abuse, Johnson admitted that he had lied. Charlie Francis, his coach, told
the inquiry that Johnson had been using steroids since 1981.
In Canada, the federal government established the Commission of Inquiry
Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic
Performance, headed by Ontario Appeal Court Chief Justice Charles Dubin. The
Dubin Inquiry, which was televised live, heard hundreds of hours of testimony
about the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs among
athletes. The inquiry began in January 1989 and lasted 91 days, with 122
witnesses called, including athletes, coaches, sport administrators, IOC
representatives, doctors and government officials.
= Comeback= In 1991, after his suspension ended, he
attempted a comeback. He returned to the track for the Hamilton Indoor Games in
1991 and was greeted by the largest crowd to ever attend an indoor Canadian
track and field event. More than 17,000 people saw him finish second in the 50
metres in 5.77 seconds. He failed to qualify for the 1991 World
Championships in Tokyo but made the Canadian Olympic team again in 1992 in
Barcelona, Spain after finishing second at the Canadian Olympic trials to Bruny
Surin. He missed the 100 metre finals at the Olympics however, finishing last in
his semi-final heat after stumbling out of the blocks.
In 1993, he won the 50 metres on January 7 in Grenoble, France, in 5.65 seconds,
just 0.04 seconds shy of the world record. However, he was found guilty of
doping just after the race – this time for excess testosterone – and was
subsequently banned for life by the IAAF. Federal amateur sport minister
Pierre Cadieux called Johnson a national disgrace, and suggested he consider
moving back to Jamaica. Johnson commented that it was "by far the most
disgusting comment [he had] ever heard." In April 1999, a Canadian adjudicator
ruled that there were procedural errors in Johnson's lifetime ban and allowed
him to appeal. The decision meant Johnson could technically run in Canada
but nobody would compete against him. They would be considered "contaminated"
by the IAAF and could also face sanctions. On June 12, 1999, Johnson
entered a track meet in Kitchener, Ontario, and was forced to run alone,
against the clock. He posted a time of 11.0 seconds. In late 1999, Johnson
failed a drug test for the third time by testing positive for
hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic that can be used to mask the presence of
other drugs. Johnson had not competed since 1993 and had arranged the test
himself as part of his efforts to be reinstated.
= Al-Saadi Gaddafi training stint= In 1999, Johnson made headlines again
when it was revealed that he had been hired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
to act as a football coach for his son, Al-Saadi Gaddafi, who aspired to join an
Italian football club. Al-Saadi ultimately did join an Italian team but
was sacked after one game when he failed a drug test. Johnson's publicist in
Canada had predicted in The Globe and Mail that his training of the young
Gaddafi would earn Johnson a Nobel Peace Prize.
= Late 1990s and beyond= Johnson briefly acted as trainer for
Argentine football player Diego Maradona in 1997. This occurred at York
University, Toronto. In 1998, Johnson appeared in a charity
race in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where he raced against a
thoroughbred race horse, a harness racing horse and a stock car. Johnson
finished third in the race. According to a 1998 article in Outside
magazine, Johnson spent much of the latter part of the 1990s living
downstairs in the house he shared with his mother Gloria. He spent his leisure
time reading, watching movies and Roadrunner cartoons, and taking his
mother to church. He lived in a spacious home in Newmarket, Ontario's Stonehaven
neighborhood. He claims to have lost his Ferrari when he used it as collateral
for a loan from an acquaintance in order to make a house payment. Gloria died of
cancer in 2004 and Johnson lived with his sister afterwards.
Shortly after his leaving Libya, it was reported that Johnson had been robbed of
$7,300 by a Romani gang in Rome. His wallet was taken, containing $7,300 in
cash, the proceeds of his pay for training Gaddafi. Johnson gave chase,
but was unable to catch them after they vanished into a subway station.
In May 2005, Johnson launched a clothing and sports supplement line, the Ben
Johnson Collection. The motto for Johnson's clothing line was "Catch Me";
however, the clothing line never caught on.
In a January 1, 2006 interview, Johnson claimed that he was sabotaged by a
"Mystery Man" inside the doping-control room immediately following the 100m
final in Seoul. He also stated that 40% of people in the sports world are still
taking drugs to improve their performance.
In March 2006, television spots featuring Johnson advertising an energy
drink, "Cheetah Power Surge", started to receive some airtime. Some pundits
questioned whether Johnson was an appropriate spokesperson for an all
natural energy drink considering his history of steroid use. One ad is a mock
interview between Johnson and Frank D'Angelo, the president and chief
executive of D'Angelo Brands, which makes the drink, in which he asks
Johnson: "Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?" "Absolutely," says Johnson. "I
Cheetah all the time." The other commercial includes Johnson and a
cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, and encourages viewers to "go
ahead and Cheetah." In August 2008, Johnson filed a $37
million lawsuit against the estate of his former lawyer Ed Futerman, claiming
Futerman made unauthorized payments from his trust account to pay bills and 20
percent commissions to a hairdresser recruited by the lawyer to act as the
sprinter's sports agent. In 2012, the lawsuit was dismissed by the Ontario
Superior Court by summary judgment on the basis that "there were no genuine
issues raised requiring a trial". At present, Johnson lives in Markham,
Ontario and spends much of his time with his daughter and granddaughter. He also
continues to coach, notably with Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K.
Subban. In 2010, he released his autobiography entitled Seoul to Soul. In
the self-published book, Johnson reviews his childhood in Jamaica, and his early
bout with malaria. A Canadian Press article described the book as "an
unconventional sports autobiography." = 25th Anniversary=
The CBC radio documentary, Rewind, "Ben Johnson: A Hero Disgraced" broadcast on
Sept. 19, 2013, for the 25th Anniversary of the race, revealed 20 athletes tested
positive for drugs but were cleared by the IOC at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and
an IOC official told the CBC that endocrine profiles done at those games
indicated that 80 percent of the track and field athletes tested showed
evidence of long-term steroid use, although few were banned or had their
medals stripped. In addition, CBC Radio was told by its
sources that NBC had threatened to withhold its second rights payment to
the IOC, due on completion of the 1988 Seoul Olympics games, stating "if these
games collapse in scandal, we're out and that money's gone."
See also List of doping cases in athletics
Men's 100 metres world record progression
References External links
Ben Johnson profile at IAAF 1988: Gold for Johnson in 100m sprint On
This Day, September 24, BBC News. johnson. steroids/88.johnson.mov Video
clip of Ben Johnson's comments after losing his gold medal in 1988
Cover of the "Why, Ben?" edition of the Toronto Sun - 1988
CBC Digital Archives: Running Off Track: The Ben Johnson Story
Order of Canada The dirtiest race in history: It's the
glamour moment of the Games, but will we ever forget the stain of Seoul?, Richard
Moore, Daily Mail, August 2, 2012