This picture right here says it all!!!
Yes that is the great Carl Lewis waaaay back in second... and the man metres ahead in blaring red is none other than the infamous Canadian Ben Johnson.
You all know the story, after euphoric Olympic glory... three days later it was all gone. Ben's world came crashing down as a routine drugs test came back positive for the steroid Stanozol. The name Ben Johnson suddenly became a pariah, no one wanted to touch with a 10ft pole.
You all know the story, after euphoric Olympic glory... three days later it was all gone. Ben's world came crashing down as a routine drugs test came back positive for the steroid Stanozol. The name Ben Johnson suddenly became a pariah, no one wanted to touch with a 10ft pole.
September 24, 2013 marks 25 years since the 1988 Olympic 100m final in Seoul that shocked the world. Yet despite the subsequent disgrace so many track fans (outside of the U.S. of course) respected Ben for giving Carl Lewis the beating of his life, thus eradicating that well known smirk he was known for in those days. For many, Ben’s biggest mistake was he was caught! That 100m final in Seoul is considered the most corrupt sprint in modern Olympic history. It was later discovered that four of the top five finishers from the race have been tainted by a drug scandal.
So over the years Ben Johnson became known as the quintessential “fall guy”. In fact, where I’m from any day of the week (usually a Thursday) when food or money is short for dinner, people tend to call it the “Ben Johnson Day”. Which really means “Hard Luck Day”. After all’s been said and done, no one can argue that what Ben did was wrong, there’s always a price to pay for one’s actions.
Ben himself agrees and is now part of an international anti-doping campaign called "Choose the Right Track," run by an Australian sports apparels company, Skins. He even returned to the scene of the infamous race in Seoul. Given how much he’s endured over the years while others... not so much, we can understand Ben’s evident feelings of resentment/bitterness. However it’s hoped the #chooseTheRightTrack campaign can offer the disgraced sprinter a rare moment of redemption.
With all the doping scandals that's rocked the sport this year, perhaps the campaign slogan slogan should be "SPRINTERS TAKE NOTE"...Of course I jest.
