Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis in 1988: How Big a Deal was the Race?

Satch black dude wrote:

I also refuse to believe that Carl was on illegal steroids.

What about 'legal' steroids?

Satch, you are about as black as my lilly white ass is.

It was a huge race, but Ben had been circulating the spiked soda rumor almost as soon as he was DQed.

It's not news.

Ben Johnson is obviously running short of money again and needs to stir the pot to start a new controversy. He is out to make appearances on talk shows etc to bring in some cash. This will die away in a couple of months and then in two years he will be back with another accusation. It never ends.

Be clear that Johnson is complaining that he was spiked with a particular drug he denies taking, though it's fairly well-established, and not even denied by him, that he was on drugs at the time. Besides his overbuilt physique, the biggest tip was that the whites of his eyes were yellow as his liver worked overtime to metabolize the 'roids.

As a sprinter, the most amazing thing about Johnson was that his upper body was so strong that he pushed himself out of the starting blocks with far more force than any other 100-meter runner. His first 10 and 20 meters were exceptional.

I was 11 at the time, and fully remember watching it with my parents at the time. My thoughts at the time, however uninformed I was, were that there is no way Carl Lewis could have lost that race. Lewis was the man every four years, and the Seoul Olympics were grander than any other I have seen (except the greatest ATL games).

On a side note, I was in the stadium in 1996 to watch the Michael Johnson 400 final and the Geb 10,000 later that night. I happened to look across the track just at the moment Lewis took his gold medal long jump. He was amazing and a true athlete.

I was there. It was one of the most thrilling races that I have seen and I favour the long ones. The next time that I went to Canada I found very disappointed non track people who had idolized Johnson felt very let down.

That day I wore a hat that said Canada on it. After the shocking and disgusting news broke you could not wear anything that indicated Canada on it or the press mobbed you.

By the way, I knew Charlie Francis and his father when he was about 14. I shared an apartment with Joe Douglas and a couple of other runners in 1965. I was very into that race and it was indeed a thriller.

Dusty Bones wrote:

As a sprinter, the most amazing thing about Johnson was that his upper body was so strong that he pushed himself out of the starting blocks with far more force than any other 100-meter runner. His first 10 and 20 meters were exceptional.

A while back, someone at CharlieFrancis.com posted a close, side view of that race and the way he came out of those blocks is unbelievable. It was like he had a catapult.

I've searched for that video but I can't find it now. It's jaw dropping.

Drugs or no drugs, Johnson's whole run was awesome.

Wejo

I agree with you that the 1988 race was a big deal. There was a big build up because Johnson had beaten Lewis the year before at the WC. The Olympic trials were also very exciting with the incredible sprint times at Indianapolis.

I still think there is a tremendous rush leading up to the Olympics that still exists to get people interested in track. NBC or whoever must properly promote and focus on the action and less on bio stuff.

It had have been a HUGE deal is he was able to get a few movie/acting jobs like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoL84h3zsvs&mode=related&search=

It was the probably the greatest thing I've ever seen in sports. The tension and anticipation as we all sat around tv waiting for the start was enormous. Then that unbelievable start by Johnson at the gun and he immediately has a 10-15 yard lead! The race was over at 50 meters.

I'll never forget the shocked look on Lewis's face afterwards.

9.79 seemed out of this world at the time and it was in the biggest race up to that point of all time.

Dusty Bones wrote:

Be clear that Johnson is complaining that he was spiked with a particular drug he denies taking, though it's fairly well-established, and not even denied by him, that he was on drugs at the time.

The only info any of us really have are the books written on each athlete. Anyone who has read them, "speed trap" by BJ and "inside track" by Carl, knows the difference between these two athletes, their coaches and their "camps." Charlie Francis provided such detailed information regarding their training regimen, drug regimen, travel schedule, etc., i would tend to think it is highly unlikely he is lying. Everyone knows BJ was on drugs, but Charlie, BJ and Dr. Astophan all account that they were not cycling Stanzonol, and I tend to believe them based on the accuracy of their book. I think BJ was set up, even though he was already on drugs.....isn't it also unlikely that he would test positive at the biggest event of his life after nevering before testing positive. just a little fishy.

hurdled400 wrote:

Anyone who has read them, "speed trap" by BJ

BJ did not write 'Speed Trap'. That was written by Francis well after BJ had severed ties with him.

Charlie, BJ and Dr. Astophan all account that they were not cycling Stanzonol, and I tend to believe them based on the accuracy of their book.

It is believed by many that BJ was panicking when injured in the weeks leading up to the Olympics and so went and got his own additional dope, unknown to Francis or Astaphan.

Both BJ and Francis lied for years before getting caught and then still lied for a while after testing positive. Can you really trust anything they say anymore? Especially when it comes to further benefiting them (particularly BJ)?

I was ten years old during the '88 olympics. Before the Olympic 100 final started, I still remember that I was basically praying in the middle of my living room that Carl Lewis would win. Immediatly afterward the race I became very depressed because I wanted Carl to beat Ben at least this time. I grew up in a track family so I already knew about the 1987 world championship where Ben Johnson won. The '88 Olympic 100 was a very big deal to me, but hardly any of my friends even knew who Carl Lewis was.

Since then I've seen a few close up photos of Ben Johnson when he was at his peak. The guy was ripped and you can really see the jaundice in his eyes. Tells me he was already juiced to the gills when he "won" the gold and broke the world record. Now he's trying to say that he tested postive because someone spiked his drink. Please.

Go here for the full race, including the lead up, and a post-race interview with Lewis (who comes off sounding childish).

Great to see commentators who don't say a word and just let the action unfold--doesn't ever seem to happen nowadays, but I guess that's just a testament to how hyped up this event already was. Nothing more needed to (or could) be said.

e4 wrote:

Huge!

I remember where I was when Ben "won", and I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard "the news". Like "where were you when JFK was shot?" It was that big for us Canucks. Our nation was hungover after the bust.

Yes Huge is exactly what I was going to say. But the story actually began in 1987 with Johnson's emergence as a force, capped by his win at the World Championships in Rome. His explosive burst out the blocks was otherworldly.

The build up and hype before the Olympics may not have been at Super Bowl levels in the US but certainly at the level of NFC Championship or NBA finals. I do remember that Johnson was pretty shifty in the post-race interviews, and I remember his yellow eyes. Rumors were swirling and it seemed that something was up. The bust was probably bigger than a Super Bowl, it was one of the biggest sports stories of the 1980s.

I was 9 when the race occurred and I can still remember watching Johnson explode out of the blocks and then 10 seconds later hearing, "UNBELIEVABLE.....NINE....SEVEN.....NINE!" It was incredible. He dusted the entire field. Great to watch