Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson, a Canadian sprinter was once considered the fastest man on earth. He had an Olympic gold medal and held the 100 metre world record of 9.79 seconds to prove it. However, after being found using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, he was stripped of all his sporting successes and suspended from competing. In Rome of 1987, Ben Johnson set four indoor world records and won the outdoor World Championships. Johnson was expected to win gold in the 100 metres at the Seoul Olympics in Korea. He smashed the world record with a time of 9.79 seconds. He tested positive for drugs, when authorities found traces of the steroid stanozolol in his urine. Ben Johnson was then stripped of his gold medal and suspended from competing for two years. The International Amateur Athletic Foundation passed a resolution stating that Johnson’s world records would be cleared. January 1992, he competed at Montreal, and was found to be using testosterone. Therefore the International Amateur Athletic Foundation brandished him with a lifetime ban from all competitions.
In this essay I will state and discuss how this affected me personally, others and the Canadian Society.

When drugs are used in sports for a different purpose such as enhancing their performance to win, this advantage to the athlete is a form of cheating and a selfish way to win. Ben Johnson lost all his endorsement contracts and the international Amateur Athletic Foundation passed a resolution stating that Johnson’s previous world records would be cleared. Why did this all happen? He was caught with steroids and stanozolol in two different situations. If you were taking drugs and were knowingly doing it, along with the thought of getting caught, why would you do that? Charlie Francis (his coach) testified in 1989 that Johnson had indeed taken steroids before setting his Rome world record. This meant that even his coach knew that he was taking drugs. Now why go through all that trouble of taking drugs knowing you