(Sports news) The 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics is known as one of the most scandalous races of all time, only one athlete out of the top five has not had drug charges on him. On September 24 1988, there was Ben Johnson who had the world record of 9.83 secs and was looking to beat Carl Lewis who was the defending Olympic champion. Lewis was already an established athlete as he had won four Golds in the previous Olympics at Los Angeles and had been a star in the field of athletics.
Ben had the world record, Lewis was the defending champion, Linford Christie was the European champion and Calvin Smith a former world record holder. The 100m final was one of the most anticipated ones as each athlete had equal chances of winning the gold medal, as soon as the shots were fired Ben with his muscled figure ran the race of his life as he lifted his hand signalling victory at the finish line. The timing was 9.79 secs and it was the first time any athlete had run a sub 9.80 secs, Carl Lewis came second with a time of 9.92 secs and Linford Christie came third with a time of 9.97. Four athletes had run under 10 seconds as Calvin Smith ran a 9.99 secs for a fourth place finish.
It was the fastest 100m men’s final and Ben dethroned Lewis for the title but three days later there was even more shocking news as Ben failed the drug test which again put him in the headlines but this time not for a good deed. Carl Lewis claimed his second consecutive title, Christie moved into the second spot and Calvin Smith won the bronze medal. Ben Johnson's world record of 9.83 secs was also now not legal and Carl Lewis had the world record.
Calvin Smith as of now is the only one out of the top five in the 1988 race who has remained clean in his career. Linford Christie was failed a drug test in 1999, Lewis had charges against him for failing the drug test at the US Olympic trials and Dennis MiItchell who had finished fourth was banned for two years in 1998 for excessive levels of the male sex hormone testosterone. There have been questions about drug testing in the field of sports and how athletes can escape the syringes as with the rise of technology there have been various ways to go under the radar.
Surprise and compulsory testing is one of the ways to determine the athletes who have taken substances in the past. The drug tainted athletes effectively are banned from the sport or banned for some period of time depending upon the severity of the case. Although athletes mostly take it for medicinal purposes, the case of Russia and certain cases in the US prove that there can be the support from the state or the athletes use it deliberately. The sport needs to remain clean at all costs and athletes who have been doing it naturally will always be there to support the cause.
