Johnson tanked because he couldn't keep up.
Ok White is RIght, here's the Reader's Digest version of the Johnson
scandal. The head coach of another country's team told this story to
myself and a few others. I will not give out the name or country of the
coach - but I will tell you this coach is from a country rich in sprinters -
not the U.S.. Several other top officials & coaches we spoke with later on
told us the same story:
Johnson was caught during a 'pop' (surprise) drug test. That he was found
to be using 'roids was no surprise, given the changes in his physique/
muscularity. To avoid another Ben Johnson situation, officials decided to
give him a semi-break. He could run, but only drug free. He was to
submit to constant testing and the threat of exposure. A 'food poisoning'
story was created. Johnson went on to medal in the relay, but had come
down to earth in the 200 etc. Is the story true? Wouldn't doubt it for a
second. The officials and coaches mentioned have told me other stories
that turned out in the end to be true. Johnson was back on track - pun
intended - for many more years, with an even more dramatic change in
physique to accompany his corresponding drop in times.
The '92 Games were marred by droves of (of course 'alleged') drug fueled
performances. Linford Christie in the 100 (at age 32 running his best),
Quincy Watts and Kevin Young running out of their heads in the 400 and
400 hurdles respectively - and then never doing much of anything again.
There were some funny moments - this was the year Amby Burfoot wrote
his "Why White Men Can't Run" article - part of RW's brainwashing to keep
whites from competitive. He said black Africans would win every distance
event. Then a Spaniard won the 1500, a German won the 5000, a
Moroccan the 10,000 and a Korean the Marathon (followed by a Japanese
and a German). Burfoot was reduced to pitiful excuses. On the women's
side, well, let's just say they didn't call Bob Kersee "Kersee the Chemist"
for no reason at all. Not that he was a chemist. He was just 'rumored' to
be highly dependent on certain doctors and drugs. I'm sure we all feel the
the same way, all of the talk about Kersee was indeed cruel rumors no
doubt. How's Flo Jo doing today? Has Jackie Joyner-Kersee's hairline
stopped receding yet? Is Gail Devers still claiming "Graves disease" even
though none of her symptoms matched up? All kinds of funny questions
one could ask... if you want to endure catcalls and howls of 'racism' used
to drown out facts.
An interesting side note is a story told to me after the Games in Sydney.
The officials said that a Kenyan who had won a distance event had been
caught using drugs, but there was enormous political pressure to let it go
- for the good of the Games, of course. And because sport is all these
poor, black, third world countries have, etc. Besides sports, they also have
several coaches and managers who aren't poor or African, but are part of
a group with a real axe to grind when it comes to whites. The officials let
it go, but this runner was then kept on a leash as part of the 'agreement'.
For some strange reason... he was never able to run anywhere near the
level he had exhibited the previous three seasons - and he was a young
guy. All kinds of injury and 'car accident' stories came up. I am sure most
track fans can figure out who I am writing about, and may have even
heard the story. I don't doubt that it's true. I have been told that a top
flight East African runner, an all-time great, had been popped for EPO
and it was dropped right away '...in the interest of the sport." Yeah, right.
Like Bernard Lagat's "false positive". Bernie runs for the US now. Isn't it
great? They aren't on drugs, but they sure take a lot of aspirin! : )
