Canadians Shamed By Johnson's Loss Of Medal
Canadians were shamed, angry and saddened Tuesday that national hero Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic gold medal for using drugs to enhance his performance. ``I feel terribly sad for him,'' said Fergus Kilmartin, 36, of Coquitlam, British Colombia. ``I don't believe he did it on purpose. He hasn't got the guile to do that.'' A disappointed nation awaited the return of the sprinter after a urine sample was found to contain traces of anabolic steroids. Canada's sole gold medal went to American Carl Lewis, who finished second in the 100-meter dash. ``It puts a dent in Canada,'' said Scott Shaw, a 10th grade student in Calgary, Alberta, said Tuesday. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who had thanked the Jamaican-born runner for the ``thrill of a lifetime'' after his record-breaking 9.79-second performance Saturday, called the drug scandal ``a moment of great sorrow for all Canadians.'' Sports Minister Jean Charest, who called the incident ``a national embarrassment,'' said Johnson will be banned from Canada's national team for life. Charest said his government accepted the validity of the tests and the suspension would be effective pending an appeal from Johnson. But Johnson's family was left confused and outraged by the turn of events. ``My brother is not guilty,'' a distaught Rodney told reporters in her yard in the Toronto suburb of Rexdale. ``If you could cut him into a million pieces and test him over again _ my brother is not on drugs.'' Outside the townhouse, police were called in to control the crowd and the traffic. Throughout Monday evening, local children attempted to raise a chorus of ``Ben! Ben! Ben!'' only to give up when the crowd would not respond. ``We've just seen the destruction of a role model,'' said former downhill skier Ken Read, of Calgary, now Canada's representative on the International Olympic Committee's athletics commission. It was the second shock to national sports fans in recent months. In August, fans were outraged when hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, another national hero, was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. Some Canadian athletes expressed sympathy for Johnson. Mike Sokowski, a teammate at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, said: ``Ben's a pretty simple guy. Ben does not do drugs. He did not knowingly do this.'' Canadian speedskater Gaetan Boucher judged the sprinter harshly, saying he has ``no respect'' for an athlete who takes drugs. Boucher won two gold medals at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Charest acknowledged that it was suggested to him several months ago that Johnson might be using steroids. ``From time to time people would come to me in a private way _ and this happened one or two times ... that maybe Ben Johnson is using steroids or other drugs,'' he said. He said the allegations came from no one officially connected with the Olympic team and that he had heard similar, unfounded allegations about other atheletes in the past. Johnson was last tested in Canada in February at a Montreal laboratory. Charest said he didn't press Johnson to have a drug test because he thought the sprinter was aware that medal winners at the Olympics would be tested for drugs immediately following competition. ``Everybody knew in advance that Mr. Johnson, if he wins a medal, was going to be tested,'' said Charest.
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