On September 24th in sports history, one significant event took place in 1988 during the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the highly anticipated 100-meter final, setting a new world record with a time of 9.79 seconds. He defeated his archrival, American Carl Lewis, who finished second with a time of 9.92 seconds.
The race was one of the most hyped and closely watched events of the Olympics, with Johnson and Lewis being the clear favorites. Johnson's victory was initially celebrated as a remarkable achievement, and he was hailed as a national hero in Canada.
However, the joy was short-lived. Just three days later, on September 27th, it was announced that Johnson had tested positive for stanozolol, a banned performance-enhancing drug. He was promptly disqualified, stripped of his gold medal, and his world record was erased from the books.
The gold medal was then awarded to Carl Lewis, with Linford Christie of Great Britain moving up to silver, and Calvin Smith of the United States receiving the bronze.
The Ben Johnson doping scandal remains one of the most infamous and controversial moments in Olympic history, and it had a profound impact on the world of sports. It led to increased efforts to combat doping and raised questions about the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics. The scandal also tarnished Johnson's legacy and forever changed the public's perception of him as an athlete.
