Lewis Second, Johnson Seventh in 100 : Track and field: It is their first showdown since 1988 Olympic final. Mitchell wins in 10.09.

They held a 100-meter race in the rain here Monday night, but it hardly mattered. This one was over long before it began.

The Carl Lewis-Ben Johnson saga that has dominated track for the last 2 1/2 years finally came to an end at the BNP Grand Prix Meet in northeastern France, and the results were decidely anticlimactic.

Lewis proved he is still among the world’s top sprinters by running 10.20 and finishing second in a strong field, but Johnson labored down the stretch and wound up seventh of eight in 10.46.

Dennis Mitchell of the United States won in 10.09.

In the end, Johnson’s performance was otherwise noteworthy only for one small gesture of defiance: He refused to shake Lewis’ hand before the race.

“As long as we are competing, that can’t happen,” he said.

But Lewis shrugged the incident off.

“If that’s his psyche, that’s his psyche,” Lewis said. “Hey, the last time we got that close I had to make him shake it, and he won that race.”

Lewis was referring to the 1988 Olympic final, when Johnson broke the world record, then promptly failed a drug test and fell from grace. Johnson unwittingly became a symbol for all that’s wrong with amateur sports, and the aftershocks are still being felt.

Lewis, who finished second that day in Seoul in a then-world record time of 9.92, has awaited vindication ever since. Here, on a cold, dreary night at the Stadium D’Nord, he got it.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Lewis said. “Let’s be honest: Would it have ended until we had this race? There’d always be that anticipation, that controversy, until this race was over. It wouldn’t have ended.

“The 1980s in America were the decade of greed and prosperity, or so we thought. Now we’re paying for it. It was just the same in track. It was the drug era. But now the sport is much cleaner, and we’re trying to improve it. That other stuff can be forgotten.”

The victory extended Lewis’ record to 10-6 in head-to-head races with Johnson--not counting the 1988 Olympics--but that number is not final. Both will go up against world record-holder Leroy Burrell (9.90) on Aug. 5 in Malmoe, Sweden, and then there will be the World Championships in August in Tokyo, although Johnson has yet to qualify for that event.

Johnson and Lewis split $500,000 for appearing at the BNP Meet--although Johnson forfeited 25% of his share because of his failure to run 10.17 or better--and more big paydays probably await.

But many believe Johnson is no longer in Lewis’ league.

“You saw it,” said Mark Witherspoon, who finished sixth. “It’s like comparing a high schooler with a world champion.”

Mitchell led from the start. Lewis broke poorly and allowed Johnson, in the next lane, a brief lead. But Lewis pulled even at 50 meters, then steadily gained ground on Mitchell. Johnson, meanwhile, faltered in the second half and drifted to the rear of the eight-man field.

Johnson has yet to win an outdoor race since his two-year suspension ended in January. The only way he will earn a spot in the Tokyo meet will be to finish among the top three at the Canadian national meet later this month in Montreal.

Yet Johnson insisted that he is not discouraged by Monday’s result.

“This is only my fifth (outdoor) race back,” he said. “I’m tired. I’ve been running for seven weeks in Europe, and now it’s time to go home and rest.”

Mitchell, meanwhile, was an overlooked champion. While reporters crowded around Lewis and Johnson, he took his trophy and casually strolled out of the stadium.

“I’m used to this,” he said. “It’s nothing I don’t expect. That’s the story of my life--I’m the unsung hero.”