The Sidelines : Ben Johnson to Return to U.S. Competition at L.A. Meet in Jan.

Ben Johnson, who was stripped of the gold medal he won in the 100-meter dash at the 1988 Olympic Games for using steroids, has signed to run in the Sunkist Invitational indoor track meet in Los Angeles in January.

It will be the first American appearance for Johnson since he was cleared for competition after being under suspension for two years because of the positive steroid test in Seoul.

Promoter Al Franken said Tuesday that Johnson’s fee will be the largest for any athlete in the 32 years of the Sunkist meet.

Johnson set a world record with his 9.79-second clocking in beating Carl Lewis in the 100-meter finals in the 1988 Olympics. The record and gold medal were taken away from Johnson after the positive test for steroids.

Johnson had lowered the 100-meter world record from 9.93 seconds to 9.83 in the 1987 World Track Championships at Rome, but that mark also was removed from the record books.

The Sunkist meet will be held Friday night, Jan. 18, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.