Council Endorses Proposal to Erase Johnson’s Record

As of Jan. 1, 1990, Carl Lewis will be recognized as the world’s fastest man if the International Amateur Athletic Federation, which governs track and field, votes today to adopt a rule recommended by its executive council.

The 23-member council endorsed a proposal Monday from the IAAF medical commission that would, in effect, strip Canadian Ben Johnson of his world record in the 100 meters and award it to Lewis.

“Our sport does not want to have a record by a person who systematically cheated the system,” said Dr. Arne Ljungqvist of Sweden, who, as chairman of the medical commission, presented the proposal to the council.

Ollan Cassell, an IAAF vice president from the United States, said the council’s decision to approve the proposed rule was “fairly unanimous.”

Debate among the 184 IAAF members on the first day of their annual congress is expected to be more contentious, but Cassell predicted the proposal will pass.

Johnson set the world record of 9.83 seconds on Aug. 30, 1987, in the world championships at Rome. But in testimony in June before the Canadian government’s commission of inquiry into drug use by athletes, Johnson admitted that he had used banned performance-enhancing substances, including anabolic steroids, since 1981.

He spoke specifically about his steroid use during 1987 in his preparation for the world championships, although a drug test after the race revealed no traces of banned substances.

One year later, however, Johnson tested positive for a steroid, stanozolol, after winning the 100 meters in the 1988 summer Olympics at Seoul in a record time of 9.79. Forced to forfeit his gold medal and his new record, he also was suspended for two years by the IAAF. He is eligible to return to competition on Sept. 25, 1990.

As the runner-up at Seoul, Lewis was awarded the gold medal upon Johnson’s disqualification. Now it appears as if Lewis’ time, 9.92, will stand as a world record, his first in an individual event.

He could not be reached for comment Monday, but he said at an Oslo, Norway, news conference in June that he would support such an action by the IAAF because it might deter athletes from using drugs.

“If the IAAF does that, then, of course, I will accept the situation,” he said. “But I also believe it will be a very strong and good statement to give to young people out there to fight drug abuse.

“This is a situation where the evidence is overwhelming, and, if they do take away the world record, then perhaps it’s justified.”

Johnson also could not be reached for comment. Last month, he told a West German newspaper, Bild, that he believed the IAAF was powerless to withdraw recognition of his record because he passed the drug test at Rome.

“So, they can’t punish me now,” he said.

After consulting with IAAF lawyers, the council apparently believed otherwise. The proposed rule reads: “Where an athlete has admitted that at some time prior to achieving a world record he had used or taken advantage of a prohibitive substance, or a prohibited technique, then, subject to the advice of the doping commission, such record will not continue to be regarded as a world record by the IAAF.”

Ljungqvist said that the statute of limitations would expire after six years. In other words, if Johnson had confessed in September, 1993 about his drug use before the 1987 world championships, the proposed rule would not have pertained to him.

But, in all likelihood, there would have been no rule proposed if not for Johnson’s admission.

The IAAF tried to make it appear as if it were not targeting Johnson. Ljungqvist said that the proposed rule is not retroactive, emphasizing that the IAAF would still recognize Johnson’s record from Aug. 30, 1987, through Dec. 31, 1989. But when the new records are published on Jan. 1, 1990, Ljungqvist said that Lewis’ 9.92 would be listed for the 100 meters.

That point, apparently a legal maneuver to stymie a potential Johnson lawsuit, was too fine for some IAAF members.

“I’m against playing with words; we’re not being honest,” said Herb McKinley, a former Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meters for Jamaica who is the honorary lifetime president of that country’s track and field association.

“They’ve already made an arch-criminal out of him. Now they want to take away the last vestige of his dignity. It’s indecent, and it’s inhumane.”

McKinley said that he is not soft on drugs. He pointed out that Jamaica’s track and field association passed a rule this year that prevents any athlete who has tested positive for drugs from representing that country in international competition.

That includes Johnson, who said recently that he wants to compete for his native Jamaica if he is banned for life from running for Canada. Canada’s sports minister, Jean Charest, said that he will make a decision after hearing the recommendation of the drug commission. Johnson moved to Canada when he was 13.

“I like the rule if it’s applied to the future,” McKinley said. “But this is retroactive, no matter what anybody says. Nobody can convince me that this rule is not aimed at Ben Johnson. If anybody can convince me of that, I’ll vote for it.”

That also was the stance of the Canadian track and field association’s president, Paul DuPre.

“Ben submitted to the drug test in Rome and passed it,” he said. “As a result, the world record was ratified. That was the rule at the time, and we should stand by that rule.

“If we want to pass a new rule starting from tomorrow, I don’t have a problem with that. If it’s retroactive, I have a problem with it.”

The commissioner of the Canadian drug inquiry, Justice Charles L. Dubin, criticized the IAAF last month, when he learned that Johnson’s record might be erased. He called such a proposal “misconceived and counter productive” because it would present drug-using athletes from coming forward.

Ljungqvist said that the rule would have no effect on the number of athletes who confess.

“Athletes have hardly admitted it even before this,” he said.

This year has been an exception because of the Canadian inquiry. Several Canadian athletes besides Johnson have told of their drug experiences. In the United States, Diane Williams, who finished third in the 1983 world championships at Helsinki in the 100 meters, admitted her past drug use this year.

Another proposal considered by the council Monday could affect her and some of the Canadians. It would allow the IAAF to require athletes who confess to drug use to forfeit their medals and titles.

“That will require additional discussion by the council,” Cassell said.

As executive director of The Athletics Congress, which governs the sport in the United States, Cassell worked behind the scenes to get the record for Lewis.

That is ironic because Lewis has feuded this year with TAC officials over a number of issues, among them his beliefs that TAC’s drug-testing program should be independently operated.

Lewis refused to compete in this summer’s national championships, which TAC used as the qualifications for this weekend’s World Cup at Barcelona.

Cassell would not speak publicly Monday about his position on the proposal.

“It’s not a U.S. proposal,” he said. “It has wide support from many members.”