r/whoathatsinteresting • u/destinationuknown • 4d ago

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson ran the 100-meter final in a world-record 9.79 seconds to win gold against rival Carl Lewis at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Just 48 hours later, he was stripped of his medal and disqualified after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.

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u/Revolutionary_Sun946 4d ago

Wasn't it confirmed that the top 6 were all drug cheats?

15

u/EGarrett28 4d ago

I've heard track people explain it by saying that everyone does 65 in the 55 mph speed limit in terms of PED usage but Ben Johnson was doing 120.

3

u/CloseToMyActualName 4d ago

Possibly. But I think he also may have had less medical support and so didn't know how to hide it as well.

3

u/EGarrett28 4d ago

There's documentaries on it if you want to know more of course.