Johnson Allegedly Points Starter’s Pistol at Motorist

Police seized a starter’s pistol from Ben Johnson’s car after a motorist alleged that the Olympic sprinter pointed it at him while driving on a Toronto highway Thursday afternoon.

The motorist told police a black Porsche pulled beside his car while he was driving east on Highway 401. The man said that the driver pointed a small handgun and then pulled away.

The motorist reported the license number of the car to police, who traced the plate to Johnson and went to the sprinter’s house.

A police spokesman said Friday that Johnson admitted he had been driving the car at the time but denied the motorist’s allegations. The investigation is continuing.

Starter’s pistols are used to begin track events. They have solid barrels and can fire only blanks.

Johnson won the 100-meter dash in a world record 9.79 seconds in Seoul, Sept. 24. He was subsequently stripped of the Olympic gold medal and the record after traces of a banned muscle-building steroid, stanozolol, were found during his post-race drug test.