Official Says Johnson May Be Able to Run in ’92

Ben Johnson may be allowed to run for Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, despite his disqualification for steroid use at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Canadian Olympic Assn. president Roger Jackson said.

“I think there’s a possibility of that, yes,” Jackson told the Canadian Press in an interview late Saturday. Jackson was not immediately available for further comment.

Jackson spoke during the association’s four-day annual meeting, which ended Sunday.

After Johnson lost his 100-meter Olympic gold medal and world record of 9.79 seconds, Canadian Sports Minister Jean Charest said he would be “banned for life.”

But Jackson said he believes the ban means Johnson will get no more federal funding, “but we all know Ben Johnson doesn’t need federal funding.”

The International Amateur Athletics Federation imposed a two-year ban on Johnson after the Seoul test, but that will end well before the Barcelona games.