Johnson on Steroids Since ‘81, Doctor Says : Astaphan Tells of Axiom, ‘If You Don’t Take It, You Don’t Make It’

Ben Johnson’s doctor testified today that the athlete told him he had been taking banned muscle-building steroid drugs since 1981.

Dr. Jamie Astaphan also told a government hearing into the use of drugs in sports that he considered it his duty as a physician to administer a drug program for at least 14 Canadian track and field stars who wanted steroids.

Astaphan, 43, told the hearing at the start of his first day of testimony that he learned of Johnson’s steroid use when they first met in the physician’s Toronto office in late 1983.

“Ben was brought to me by Charlie Francis (Johnson’s coach) because of a knee injury,” Astaphan said.

He said Francis brought up the subject of steroid use and Johnson explained that he had been using them on and off since 1981.

“Charlie initiated the conversation and Ben provided the rest of the information,” Astaphan said. “He said he thought the program had made him a little bit stronger and a little bit quicker.”

The series of hearings was triggered by Johnson’s disqualification when steroids were found in his urine sample after winning last year’s Olympic 100 meters gold medal in Seoul. He was subsequently disqualified and stripped of his medal.

The inquiry has heard testimony that steroid use was widespread among Canadian Olympic athletes.

Astaphan told the hearing he took control of Johnson’s drug program after that meeting and saw the sprinter “as regular as was possible with Ben.”

In answer to a question, Astaphan said he made it clear to Johnson what the drugs would do and what the side effects are.

“All the time, he was very inquisitive,” Astaphan replied when asked if he had informed Johnson about the drugs.

Asked if Johnson understood what he was being told, Astaphan said: “Absolutely.”

Johnson, who has yet to testify, has insisted he never knowingly took banned drugs.

Astaphan said he began prescribing performance-enhancing drugs for Canada’s top athletes earlier in 1983 because he believed the Hypocratic oath required him to do so.

“The axiom with track and field athletes was: if you don’t take it, you don’t make it,” the doctor told the inquiry. “If I didn’t give it to them, they’d get it elsewhere . . . I thought it was my responsibility to do this.”