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I was the best ever: Ben Johnson <!--
Thursday, October 19, 2006-->
Web posted at: 10/11/2006 4:6:35
Source ::: THE PENINSULA <TABLE width="10%" align=right bgColor=#e9e9e9><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in Toronto.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
en says if he were to compete now, he could clock 9.5 seconds in the 100m
by Rizwan Rehmat
It was quite a comical sight. .. Once the fastest man on Earth over a distance of 100 meters, Ben Sinclair Johnson was now walking with a slight limp because of an injury sustained during a fitness drill in Toronto, a place where he bides times doing business and coaching. Ben, as he is known in the world of athletics, took languid steps as he walked up stairs of a downtown bar in Toronto before resting on a chair, clutching his painful knee. Minus the hesitant gait because of the injury, Ben looked more or less the same sprinter that shook the world at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 when he clocked an astonishing 9.79secs in the 100m, but got disqualified for having used steroids to enhance his performance. <TABLE width="10%" align=left bgColor=#e9e9e9><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
It has been almost 18 years since that day when he got caught using illegal means on way to beating the might of Carl Lewis of the United States and Linford Christie of Britain. The disqualification of Ben in the South Korea capital was followed by a ban from the IAAF and plenty of flak from Canadian athletics authorities.
Days before that fateful race in Seoul, Ben was the most sought after athlete in the world for his heroic rise to stardom, thanks to his amazing talent as a runner. Training for four hours a day for 11 years, Jamaican-born Ben was beginning to reap benefits for his untiring ways to achieve glory in the world of track and field.
After moving to Canada from Jamaica at the age of 14, Ben’s first major international break came when he took part in the 1983 world championships where he was eliminated at the semi-finals stage. A year later in 1984, Ben raced for Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics, finishing with a bronze medal. In 1986, Ben beat his fast-becoming arch-rival Lewis at the Goodwill Games in Moscow with a time of 9.95secs. The same year, Ben was named the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year.
With his living room already full of trophies, Ben set the then world record of 9.83secs in Rome championships in August 1987. A few days later, he was honoured with the Order of Canada title for bringing a lot of good name to his adopted country.
With fame came cash and rumour has it that he was making about $480,000 a month in endorsements alone. One sports write estimated that Ben was making about $7.2m per year. There was a time he was charging about $9,000 for an interview even after being banned in 1998. In his first five comeback races in 1991, Ben made about $400,000. Ben himself says he could have made at least $100m if he hadn’t been for the ban on him for drugs use. This figure, he reminds, does not
Thursday, October 19, 2006-->
Web posted at: 10/11/2006 4:6:35
Source ::: THE PENINSULA <TABLE width="10%" align=right bgColor=#e9e9e9><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in Toronto.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>en says if he were to compete now, he could clock 9.5 seconds in the 100m
by Rizwan Rehmat
It was quite a comical sight. .. Once the fastest man on Earth over a distance of 100 meters, Ben Sinclair Johnson was now walking with a slight limp because of an injury sustained during a fitness drill in Toronto, a place where he bides times doing business and coaching. Ben, as he is known in the world of athletics, took languid steps as he walked up stairs of a downtown bar in Toronto before resting on a chair, clutching his painful knee. Minus the hesitant gait because of the injury, Ben looked more or less the same sprinter that shook the world at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 when he clocked an astonishing 9.79secs in the 100m, but got disqualified for having used steroids to enhance his performance. <TABLE width="10%" align=left bgColor=#e9e9e9><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>It has been almost 18 years since that day when he got caught using illegal means on way to beating the might of Carl Lewis of the United States and Linford Christie of Britain. The disqualification of Ben in the South Korea capital was followed by a ban from the IAAF and plenty of flak from Canadian athletics authorities.
Days before that fateful race in Seoul, Ben was the most sought after athlete in the world for his heroic rise to stardom, thanks to his amazing talent as a runner. Training for four hours a day for 11 years, Jamaican-born Ben was beginning to reap benefits for his untiring ways to achieve glory in the world of track and field.
After moving to Canada from Jamaica at the age of 14, Ben’s first major international break came when he took part in the 1983 world championships where he was eliminated at the semi-finals stage. A year later in 1984, Ben raced for Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics, finishing with a bronze medal. In 1986, Ben beat his fast-becoming arch-rival Lewis at the Goodwill Games in Moscow with a time of 9.95secs. The same year, Ben was named the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year.
With his living room already full of trophies, Ben set the then world record of 9.83secs in Rome championships in August 1987. A few days later, he was honoured with the Order of Canada title for bringing a lot of good name to his adopted country.
With fame came cash and rumour has it that he was making about $480,000 a month in endorsements alone. One sports write estimated that Ben was making about $7.2m per year. There was a time he was charging about $9,000 for an interview even after being banned in 1998. In his first five comeback races in 1991, Ben made about $400,000. Ben himself says he could have made at least $100m if he hadn’t been for the ban on him for drugs use. This figure, he reminds, does not
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