ESPN Revisits the Ben Johnson Steroid Scandal

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ESPN has revisited the Ben Johnson steroid scandal in its coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. While ESPN didn’t mention sprinter Usain Bolt by name, it compared the “sprinting sensation” seeking to repeat as Olympic champion to the Canadian who “brought shame” to track and field in 1988. There has been no evidence to suggest Usain Bolt has used anabolic steroids but this doesn’t stop people from suggesting his performance might be tainted. After all if Ben Johnson had to use steroids to run a then-world record 9.79, then how is it possible that Bolt has run as fast as 9.58 in the 100 meters?

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for Winstrol metabolites in a doping control taken after the 100 meter finals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The scandal had major reverberations around the world but most notably in his home country of Canada.  The Dubin “Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance” was the $3-4 million government investigation into performance-enhancing drugs in sport that came as a result..

The Dublin Inquiry produced 14,000 pages of testimony that featured revelations of widespread steroid use by the Canadian track and field community.

Ben Johnson and his coach Charlie Francis both admitted to the sprinter’s use of anabolic steroids but both denied he used Winstrol. Johnson was outraged that he was accused of using Winstrol. He cheated. But he didn’t use Winstrol. His steroid of choice for the Seoul Olympics was the East German designer steroid called furazobol.

Johnson had used other steroids in his career including Dianabol and Winstrol. But he gained too much muscle with Dianabol; extra muscle isn’t always beneficial for sprinters. The Winstrol made his muscles too tight and prone to injury. So, this led him to experiment with Furazabol (which was undetectable in steroid tests at the time).

Johnson claimed that he was sabotaged by a close family friend of American sprinter Carl Lewis. Former agent Larry Heidebrecht balmed a mysterious stranger for giving Johnson a mysterious drink with a “yellow gooey” residue at the bottom.

Johnson’s coach Charlie Francis blamed a tall and dark-skinned American for spiking the drink with the steroid Winstrol.

Johnson attempted to make an Olympic comeback after his steroid disgrace at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but failed to make the 100 meter finals. He was banned for life the following year by the IAAF after he failed the testosterone:epitestosterone (T:E) ratio doping control.

In 1999, Johnson attempted to be reinstated to track and field but he was caught doping for a third time after a urine sample turned up traces of the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

While most people believe Johnson brought nothing but shame and disgrace upon Canada, not everyone agrees. Ramsey Naja, the chief creative officer at marketing-communications company JWT MEA, believes there was something special about Johnson.

“When Johnson cheated, he did it beautifully, superbly, breathtakingly. He didn’t do it in some second-rate village fair, he did it when the stakes were unbelievably high and the expectations had vertigo,” according to Naja. “He cheated with the whole planet riveted to their screens, on the greatest stage, and annihilated his opponents, his greatest rival and all records in doing so.”

Some people have predicted that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt can not only repeat as the 2012 Olympic champion but can also set a new world record as low as 9.4 seconds in the 100 meters. And Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games, believes Bolt can do it without steroids.

Source:

ESPN. (March 1, 2012). Rewind to 1998: From hero to zero. Retrieved from http://www.espn.co.uk/london-olympics-2012/sport/story/138660.html

Akerman, I. (March 4, 2012). I’ll take a pass on the steroid burger. Retrieved from http://campaignme.com/2012/03/04/13078/i%E2%80%99ll-take-a-pass-on-the-steroid-burger/