On this day - 24 September

The 100m men's final at the Olympics in 1988 was subject to much controversy. On September 24th 1988 Ben Johnson of Canada won the race in 9.79 seconds, lowering the world record he had set previously. He was given the gold medal. He was drugs tested and the sample was reported to contain Stanozolol, a performance enhancing steroid, leading to his disqualification three days after the event. Only two of the eight athletes who took part in the final remained clean on drug testing throughout their careers.

There was controversy over the drug test result, as although Johnson admitted to using steroids, his coach later wrote a book stating Johnson preferred a different steroid to the one found in his drug test. He also wrote that he knew how much time he needed before a race to clear the drugs from his system. He felt that Johnson was spiked before the race.