A little more than 30 years after the biggest cheater of the Olympic Games, the affair Ben Johnson it always arouses curiosity and even new theories. The scandal of doping of the final 100 meter dash of 1988 Seoul Olympics was the subject of a long report by the Canadian newspaper “Toronto Star”.

The main news is that a medical report from those Olympics, never published, allegedly showed that other athletes had doping problems but were ultimately exonerated.

See photos of Ben Johnson in the 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics

According to the “Star”, Johnson’s guilt is beyond doubt. Two days after impressively winning gold in the 100 meters final, his medal was stripped from him due to a positive test for anabolic steroids.

Johnson won the race with a time of 9.79, breaking the world record for the race. It is well ahead of its great rival, the American Carl Lewis, with whom he had been exchanging barbs for some time. Especially since the Canadian began to defeat him relatively frequently from 1987, in the World Cup final in Rome (ITA).

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When his positive test was announced, Ben Johnson was expelled from the Olympic village. He was put on trial in Iaaf (Association of International Athletics Federations), admitted to having consumed prohibited substances during the preparation phase. He received a two-year suspension. He returned to the slopes but ended up being permanently banned after testing positive again, during an indoor meeting (indoor track), in 1993.

The Canadian newspaper’s report does not help his compatriot’s situation. But it is clear that other athletes, particularly those in athletics, were the subject of a more lenient analysis by the medical commission of the Seoul Games.

According to the “Star”, eight unidentified American athletes, who tested positive shortly before the Olympic Games, were not sanctioned after their case was discussed in South Korea. Two of these athletes were medalists at the 1988 Games.

The only case mentioned publicly is that of the British Lindford Christie. He inherited the silver medal after the punishment inflicted on Ben Johnson. According to the report, he was given the “benefit of the doubt.” The reason was that the levels of ephedrine found in his body were believed to be linked to the athlete’s consumption of ginseng. Very well then…

Even if it does not bring any “bombshells”, the report from the “Toronto Star” proves that the Ben Johnson affair has triggered a profound change in the parameters of doping control in sport. Safety problems in control rooms and even in the vials that collected samples in 1988 are unthinkable today.

30 years later, Ben Johnson continues to claim that he was framed and consumed a drink spiked by a friend of Carl Lewis, present in the control room.

It will probably take another 30 years and this issue will still cause a lot of controversy.

SEE AS ​​WELL :

+ Russia neglects fight against doping by preventing WADA from accessing laboratory
+ 30 years ago, Ben Johnson’s first major victory over Carl Lewis
+ Can we dream of a sport without doping?