World Sports Scene / Randy Harvey : Nervous Athletes Await Astaphan’s Testimony

The Canadian government’s commission of inquiry into drug use by athletes resumes today with one of the key witnesses on the stand.

As Ben Johnson’s physician, Jamie Astaphan will be asked during the next seven to 10 days to shed more light on the sprinter’s positive test for an anabolic steroid at the Seoul Olympics.

Short of actually inspecting Johnson’s urine sample, it would seem that the commission has exhausted this topic after sitting through 50 days of testimony.

But Astaphan has said that he will not confine his revelations to Johnson, and that statement has made track and field athletes on several continents nervous. Johnson’s coach, Charlie Francis, named athletes he suspected of using banned drugs, but Astaphan may be willing to submit medical records of athletes he treated.

After Francis’ testimony in March identified Astaphan as a drug supplier for Johnson and other Canadian athletes, the doctor told the Canadian Press that he would “spill every detail” at the inquiry. He also said that every track and field athlete competing at Seoul used steroids.

“If there was any athlete not on them, they were probably from Sri Lanka or Timbuktu or some other Godforsaken place,” said Astaphan, who had a practice in Toronto until moving to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts in 1986.

Their campaign for the 1998 Winter Olympics at least temporarily spared, Anchorage officials have strengthened their bid with a $15-million promise from the city’s Municipal Assembly.

Criticized because it has not built winter sports facilities while serving as the U.S. candidate for the Winter Olympics since 1985, the Anchorage Olympic Committee has committed to break ground on bobsled and luge tracks and a speed skating oval by the end of the year.

That is contingent upon the United States Olympic Committee’s designation of Anchorage for the third time as its candidate in an executive board meeting next month at Des Moines, Iowa. Anchorage’s bids before the International Olympic Committee for the Winter Games in 1992 and 1994 failed. Others seeking U.S. approval are Salt Lake City, Denver and Reno-Lake Tahoe.

It is no secret that some Pacific 10 track and field coaches, most notably Washington State’s John Chaplin, suspect UCLA’s Steve Lewis of having accepted bonus money from a shoe company, Adidas, after winning the gold medal in the 400 meters at Seoul.

If true, it could cost the UCLA sophomore his eligibility because it is a violation of National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules. But UCLA’s athletic department has investigated the allegation and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

After earning outstanding athlete honors at the Pac-10 meet last weekend, when he won the 400 meters and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay team, Lewis denied having accepted money from Adidas.

He also said that he has not decided whether to return to UCLA for his junior year, telling reporters that his goal in college track is to win an NCAA individual championship. He was second to former UCLA teammate Danny Everett last year in the 400 meters.

Even though school figures have been eliminated from most international competition, including the World Championships and the Olympics, the United States Figure Skating Assn. will continue to include them in its national championships. This is a concession to both proponents of figures and the anti-sedative lobby. Who needs Sominex when you can watch school figures?

But beginning in 1990, it no longer will be required for freestyle skaters to compete in figures, which are the sport’s equivalent to scales on a piano. There will be two phases of competition, one for figures and one for freestyle. Only the freestyle medalists, however, will be considered for berths in the World Championships and the Olympics.

The U.S. national soccer team already has sold out its June 17 World Cup qualifying game at New Britain, Conn., against Guatemala. It can only be hoped that the spectators will be better treated than the 10,000 or so who paid $14 and $12 for tickets to the U.S. game against Trinidad and Tobago two weeks ago at Torrance’s El Camino College.

The gates were closed until an hour before the game, causing considerable congestion outside the stadium. Fortunately, this is not England, where people literally die to get into games. Programs sold for $2, but the rosters did not include the players’ numbers. There also was no clock on the scoreboard to indicate time remaining.

That stole the drama of Trinidad and Tobago’s goal, which tied the game, 1-1. It was scored with only two minutes remaining, but no one except the referee, who keeps the official time on the field, realized that at the time.

Enthusiasts of ribbons and hoops will be pleased to learn that an Associated Press dispatch reporting the elimination of rhythmic gymnastics from the Summer Olympics was incorrect. The IOC never considered dropping the individual and pairs events, which are popular with ticket buyers beyond explanation.