
By Richard Moore
The 1988 Seoul Olympics performed host to what has been defined by way of a few because the dirtiest race of all time, by means of others because the maximum. the ultimate of the men's a hundred metres at these Olympics is definitely the main notorious within the historical past of athletics, and extra indelibly etched into the cognizance of the game, the Olympics, and a world viewers of thousands, than the other athletics occasion prior to or since.
Ben Johnson's world-record time of 9.79 seconds – as exciting because it was once – used to be the start instead of the tip of the tale. Following the race, Johnson confirmed confident, information that generated as many – if no more – shockwaves as his quickest ever run. He was once stripped of the name, Lewis used to be offered the gold medal, Linford Christie the silver and Calvin Smith the bronze.
More than 20 years on, the tale nonetheless hadn't ended. In 1999 Lewis used to be named Sportsman of the Century via the IOC, and Olympian of the Century through activities Illustrated. but his acceptance was once broken via revelations that he too used performance-enhancing medicines, and confirmed optimistic ahead of the Seoul Olympics. Christie additionally demonstrated confident in Seoul yet his rationalization, that the banned substance have been in ginseng tea, used to be authorized. Smith, now a lecturer in English literature at a Florida college, was once the one athlete within the most sensible 5 whose recognition is still unblemished – the others all proven confident in the course of their careers.
Containing amazing new revelations, this booklet makes use of witness interviews - with Johnson, Lewis and Smith between others - to reconstruct the build-up to the race, the race itself, and the fallout while information of Johnson's optimistic try out broke and he used to be pressured into hiding. It additionally examines the contention of the 2 favourites going into it, and places the race in a historic context, analyzing its carrying on with relevance at the game this present day, the place each new list elicits scepticism.