Johnson Offered Money for Injection of Steroid, Canadian Athlete Testifies

Andrew Mowatt, who has competed for Canada in both the Winter and Summer Olympics, said Wednesday that Ben Johnson once offered him money for an anabolic steroid injection.

Mowatt, a track sprinter and a bobsledder, also told the Canadian government’s inquiry into drug use by athletes that he was given steroids by Coach Charlie Francis and Dr. Jamie Astaphan without his knowledge.

Mowatt said that Johnson offered to pay him in 1986 if he would inject him with a syringe full of liquid stored at Francis’ Toronto apartment. Mowatt said the vial of milky white fluid looked the same as a bottle of steroids earlier entered into evidence.

“He said, ‘You give me a shot, and I’ll give you a shot,’ ” Mowatt said, adding that he initially refused because he had never given an injection. “Then, he said, ‘C’mon, be a friend. I need a shot.’ ”

Mowatt said he consented after refusing Johnson’s offer of cash.

But Mowatt did not indicate whether Johnson seemed aware that the injection was for a steroid. Johnson is expected to testify next month that he never knowingly took banned substances.

The hearings are scheduled to continue today with testimony by Johnson’s longtime friend and adviser, Ross Earl.