THE SEOUL GAMES : Johnson Finds It’s Not a Snap : Sprinter’s Image Suffers Setback as Tempers Flare

As star sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada found out here recently, it is rough being in the center ring of a media circus, especially when there are dozens of aggressive photographers sharing it with you.

Johnson arrived at Seoul’s Kimpo Airport late Friday and immediately found himself facing a hurricane of a vastly different kind from what his father and relatives faced a few days ago in his native Jamaica.

And that hurricane of people with cameras was the main topic of a press conference Sunday at which both Johnson and press photographers came out looking bad.

According to Charlie Francis, Johnson’s coach, the scene at Kimpo Friday night was ugly.

“We had an agreement with the media before we got off the plane,” Francis said. “We agreed that they could shoot (pictures) all they wanted, as long as they kept a path clear in front of us, for us to move forward. But once we got off the plane, they just were all over us.”

According to both Francis and newspaper reports here, Johnson shoved a man out of the way--it turned out to be a security guard, not a photographer--and cursed at the gathering crowd.

But it got worse. Johnson was slammed up against a car he was trying to get into and, once he did get inside, it sped away, leaving the rest of his contingent, including Francis, standing there with their baggage.

“It wasn’t just Ben and the rest of us that got caught in the mess,” Francis said. “A woman who was just in the area got knocked around and all her baggage went flying off her cart.

“Somebody is really going to get hurt. The whole thing was completely out of control.

“I don’t think people should be jumping over bodies to get exclusive pictures of an injury they caused themselves.”

Francis said that the crowd was “mostly Asian photographers.”

Mike Moran, director of media relations for the United States Olympic Committee, confirmed that what Johnson faced Friday night is fast becoming one of the early black marks against the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC).

“SLOOC credentialed many photographers over and above the International Olympic Committee’s quotas, and they’re just running wild,” Moran said.

He said the problem areas have been airport arrivals and the main press center conference room. Carl Lewis, who will face Johnson in a highly anticipated 100-meter race next Saturday, got similar rude treatment upon his arrival at Kimpo a few days earlier.

And a press conference for U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi turned chaotic when Biondi finished his remarks and started to leave. Photographers chased him down the halls of the press center, so USOC officials took Biondi into their office to hide him for a while. But the photographers went into the office of Cox Newspapers next door to the USOC, and because there are no ceilings on the offices, climbed the walls and shot pictures of Biondi over the top.

Saturday, the USOC had to send husky Craig Miller, one of its press assistants, ahead of Florence Griffith Joyner to act as a human wedge in getting her in and out of her meeting with the press.

Johnson had an opportunity to repair some of the negative image he had acquired with the reporting of the mess at the airport and his shoving and cursing. But he chose to ignore the opportunity to win some friends and influence some people at Sunday’s press conference.

--When questioned about why he hadn’t marched with Canada in the opening ceremony, while Carl Lewis was marching with the United States, Johnson said: “I’m just here to win. I’ve been in other opening ceremony parades. I don’t need that. Carl can do whatever he wants. We’ll race and see who is the better man.”

--Responding to a question about what he might do with his career after he wins or loses here, he said, “First of all, I’m not going to lose.”

--Asked whether this should be considered more than a two-man 100-meter race, with the inclusion of Calvin Smith as a contender, he said: “Calvin is no match for me. Remember, I still haven’t run my best race (he is the world record-holder). When I’m at my best, there’s nobody that can run with me.”

--Responding to a question about whether he and Lewis have crossed paths since Lewis beat him in their celebrated showdown rematch this summer in Zurich, he said: “No, no. We don’t be together (sic). I look upon Carl as a normal human being. He’s not God.”

--Asked if he likes Lewis, he said, “I like everybody.”

--Asked what kind of routine he would follow in the 24 hours before the race, he said, “The same as I followed in Rome (when he set the world record).”

--Asked what that routine is, he said, “That’s a secret.”

The only soft side Johnson showed was when he was questioned about his father’s safety in Jamaica, which was recently hit by Hurricane Gilbert. He said that, although he hadn’t talked with his father, he was sure he was safe, but that he didn’t think he would be able to come to the Olympics as planned.

Francis elaborated on that later, saying that Johnson’s father, also named Ben, is a phone lineman and needs to stay home for the emergency repair work made necessary by Gilbert.