Canadian Medical Board Suspends Astaphan

Jamie Astaphan, the physician who prescribed steroids for Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson and other athletes, was suspended Monday from practicing medicine in Canada for 18 months and fined $5,000 by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Astaphan, 45, said he began prescribing drugs to athletes in 1983 when he learned that some coached by Charlie Francis were dosing themselves. Astaphan said he was concerned that the athletes “would kill themselves.”

In an agreed-upon statement of facts, Astaphan outlined how he had lied about Johnson’s steroid use after the athlete’s positive test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Johnson, who was stripped of his Olympic gold medal at Seoul, returned to competition earlier this year after a two-year ban.