Johnson Penalty Possible in Sept.

Track and field’s world governing body will discuss possible action that could strip Ben Johnson of the 100-meter world record at its congress in Barcelona next month, the head of the organization said today.

The Canadian’s record of 9.83 seconds was set at the 1987 World Championships in Rome. Johnson tested positive for steroids at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and was stripped of the gold medal after finishing first in 9.79. The time, which would have been a world record, was annulled.

Johnson admitted to a government inquiry in Canada into drug abuse in sports that he had been taking steroids long before the 1987 World Championships. He passed post-race dope tests in Rome.

“We won’t discuss the Johnson case specifically, but we will organize a plan to fight doping in general,” Primo Nebiolo, president of International Amateur Athletic Federation, the sport’s governing body, said.

Nebiolo said the decision would include possible retroactive action against athletes who have admitted to taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.