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September 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Join us on Daily Sports History as we revisit the dramatic story of Ben Johnson's 1988 Olympic victory and downfall. Explore how Johnson won the 100m gold medal in record time, only to be stripped of his title due to a doping scandal. Discover the impact this moment had on the world of athletics and the lasting legacy of one of the biggest controversies in Olympic history.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On September twenty fourth, nineteen eighty eight, one of the
biggest races in Olympic history happened during the one hundred
meter dash when Ben Johnson faced off against Carl Lewis
to see who would be the fastest man in the world,
and Ben Johnson an astounding nine point seven nine seconds,

(00:20):
setting the world record, becoming the fastest man alive, and
within days would be stripped of his gold medal and
be banned from competition. Here's a story behind how all
this happened. Today on Daily Sports History, Welcome to Daily
Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your daily guide, helping you

(00:43):
learn more about sports history as you expand your sports knowledge.
In today's trivia question is when was the first time
Ben Johnson became the fastest man alive? Now, the world
has been keeping track of the fastest man alives since
eighteen ninety one, when Luther Carey had the record at

(01:06):
ten point eight seconds. That was the first unofficial record,
but then we had the IAAF, the International Amateur Athletic
Federation started keeping records in nineteen twelve, and it wasn't
until nineteen sixty eight when someone finally broke the ten
second barrier and Jim Hayes from the United States running

(01:29):
nine point nine eight seconds, and before Ben Johnson started
to race, the record for the fastest time was nine
point nine three seconds nineteen eighty three, so in almost
one hundred years they dropped the record by less than
one second. So the one hundred meters dash that point

(01:51):
one is important and within five years Ben Johnson would
break that record by point one five huge margin, but
it would not stand. Let's find out the reason why.
Ben Johnson was actually born in Jamaica and his family
immigrated to Canada in nineteen seventy six, where he came
with his mom, but his dad stayed in Jamaica to

(02:13):
try to continue working, and Johnson would go on to
join coach Charlie Francis, who actually was a sprinter himself
and made it to the nineteen seventy two Munich Olympics
and saw that Johnson had great potential as he won
two silver medals in the nineteen eighty two Commonwealth Games
with a time of ten point zero five seconds and
would actually qualify for the nineteen eighty four Olympics held

(02:36):
in Los Angeles, where he made the finals and after
a false start. He went on to win bronze behind
Carl Lewis and Sam Grady with a time of ten
point twenty two. It would also win bronze that year
part of the Canadians four by one hundred meter relay,
So by this point he had made his way to
be becoming one of the top runners in the world

(02:58):
and started the rival with running great Carl Lewis. They
would always go back and forth between this time and
the nineteen eighty eight Olympics who was the fastest person.
They would trade off throughout this time, and Ben kept
fighting to be the best because this was a lucrative thing.
Being the fastest man alive made you got endorsements and

(03:20):
you were a celebrity. So he was making money for
his family, who were immigrants in the country. His mom
had fired for everything and he wanted to fight to
give her everything back. So it a race in Rome, Italy,
Ben set a new record of nine point eight three seconds,
a point one second difference than the world record had

(03:41):
previously been set. That is a huge jump but made
him officially the fastest man alive. But it wouldn't be
smooth sailing. In nineteen ninety eight, in February he pulled
a hamstring and in May he aggravated that hamstring just
as the Olympics were coming up. So with injuries and
everything going on, he had so much much pressure with
the Olympics coming up, as in the year before, he

(04:04):
was gonna do whatever he could to make it to
the Olympics and win. And on September twenty fourth, nineteen
eighty eight, was the one hundred meter final at the
Sole Olympics. Everyone had their eyes on Johnson and Carl
Lewis to see who would win the gold despite Johnson
being the world record holder, Carl Lewis had won the
world championship the year four, and Johnson was still coming

(04:26):
back from his handstreaming injuries. And the gun sounds and
they take off and Johnson starts to break away from
the pack by a large margin by one hundred meters
dash standards, and Johnson holds his hands out as he
crosses the finish line with an astonishing time of nine
point seven nine seconds, a new world record, beating Carl Lewis,

(04:49):
who ran nine point nine to two, and only four
racers that day ran under ten seconds. Johnson was on
top of the world, just won a gold medal set
the world record. But after this we found out that
Johnson had tested positive for steroids, and within just three
days after the race, he was disqualified and all his

(05:10):
subsequent records were removed and Carl Lewis was given the
gold medal and the new world record as it was
previously nine point nine three, and Carl Lewis ran nine
point ninety two, giving him the new world record, as
all of Ben Johnson's records were now disqualified and Canada

(05:30):
would ban him from participating for the national team. Now,
at this time, steroids was a big problem in track
and field, and this one hundred meter final is known
also as the dirtiest race in history, as six of
the eight runners would at some point test positive for
steroids in their career, and Ben himself would say it

(05:52):
was something you had to do. At the time, everyone
was taking the steroids and if you wanted to remain
on the same plane as them, you had to do
the same thing. And later in twenty eighteen, an investigative
reporter actually dug into what actually happened with this, and
there was a lot of inconsistencies in the dopering report
that got Ben Johnson disqualified as no Canadian official or

(06:15):
Ben Johnson was ever given the report, which had things
marked out, things written in all things that should not
be part of an official drug test for the IOC,
but they were, which they raised his suspicion about the conspiracy,
but Ben Johnson owned up to taking steroids as that's
what people did at the time. So within a span

(06:38):
of a few days he was a hero in the
world in Canada and now he was banned from competition,
and after his suspension was lifted by the IOC in
nineteen ninety one, he actually attempted to come back, but
he failed to qualify for the nineteen ninety one World Championships,
but he was able to make the Olympic team again,
but missed the one hundred meters final at in nineteen

(06:58):
ninety two, fish last in his semi final heat after
stumbling out of the blocks. Johnson would then go transition
out of running and become a trainer and make public
appearances for charities throughout Canada, as he's still a figurehead
in Canada despite his disqualifications. In twenty ten, he released
an autobiography and Tired Soul to Soul and was a

(07:21):
part of a new book that came out in twenty
eighteen about all that happened, about how he was disqualified
and how his drug testing was a little off called
Ben Lewis the Fastest Man Alive to just give you
some perspective on how fast it was that he ran
in nineteen eighty eight at nine point seven nine seconds,
which he says he could have ran faster if he

(07:42):
didn't hold his arms out at the end. That time
was not seen again until eleven years later when Maurice
Green of the United States ran nine point seventy nine
and it wasn't beaten until two thousand and two by
Tim Montgomery who also tested positive for steroids, so his
time was voided and the first official time that was

(08:05):
given wasn't until two thousand and five. Was the first
person that officially beat Ben Loose's time, and as Stepha
Powell who ran nine point seven eight seconds, who held
the record until Yussein Bolt took over in two thousand
and eight, and the current record is at nine point
five eight which seems like an incredibly fast time and

(08:29):
the sport has become cleaner throughout the years, but there's
still athletes contesting positive for steroids, as there are so
many options out there and so many things that these
athletes take to try to get an edge, to try
to become that fastest man in life, because it means endorsements,
it means fame, it means everything as a runner, especially

(08:50):
a sprinter, to be named the fastest man alive. And
Ben Johnson wanted the fame, he wanted the money, and
he wanted to be the fastest man alive and he
was for three days. And if you want to hear
more about track and field, I encourage you to listen
to On the Track in Field, where coach Airs talks
to great athletes as well as dives into the history

(09:11):
of track and field. He's got a great episode with
Professor Dave Lut who goes through the Crown Games of
ancient Greece to learn about how there was even more
than just the Olympics ancient Greece. It's a great listen
and I encourage you to check out this if you
like track and field at all, We'll put a link
in the description for you to check it out. And
if you like this episode, please let us know. You

(09:34):
can reach out to us on our social media. We're
at Daily Sports History on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube threads,
macedon Pinterest, wherever you like to socialize. Word there you
can follow us and let us know how much you
love the show, and come back tomorrow for more daily
sports history. In the answer today's trivia question, when was

(09:55):
the first time Ben Johnson became the fastest man alive?
In nineteen eighty seven, Ben Johnson became the fastest man alive,
running nine point eight three seconds, beating the previous record
by point one seconds.
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