On a sunlit September afternoon in 1988 Ben Johnson stepped up to his blocks for the most important race of his life: the Olympic 100m final. Johnson symbolized the Canadian dream, the shy immigrant from Jamaica whose genius was discovered on the frozen running tracks of Canada. Johnson ran on time but he also ran on a lie: for years he had used steroids to boost his performance. And in 46 strides he guaranteed himself sporting immortality by running faster than any man in history. Two days later Johnson was at the centre of the biggest scandal in the modern Olympiad. Reputations s8e3: Ben Johnson: Lost Seoul, BBC 2001
[Charlie] Francis made an important discovery: performance enhancing drugs were a fundamental part of their [East Germany] success. ibid.
Carl Lewis: he was quicker and smarter. ibid.
[George] Astaphan gave Johnson a new steroid, a veterinary product designed to boost an animals’ body. ibid.
‘This is evil that’s being exposed.’ ibid. Ron Pickering
The more he denied, the bigger the lie became. ibid.
Found guilty of taking illegal steroids, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal. Faster Higher Stronger – Stories of the Olympic Games I, BBC 2012
In the women’s events East German won ten out of fifteen ... Rumours circulated they weren’t clean. Faster Higher Stronger – Stories of the Olympic Games IV, BBC 2012
East German women dominated throughout the ’80s ... A state-sponsored programme had been supplying athletes with performance enhancing steroids. ibid.
At the height of the Cold War, East German athletes conquered the world. But the victories were tainted by a state-run steroid programme that put national glory above human safety. Today, the doped athletes are paying a heavy price. Secrets of the Dead: Doping for Gold, 2008
A generation of female athletes that seemed to win every event they entered. ibid.
Successful athletes enjoyed freedom not available to their fellow citizens. ibid.
The Protocol was based on the work of chemists and pharmacologists at a secret lab in Leipzig. For six years the scientists had been testing male hormones on one of their female Olympic stars, a shot-putter named Margitta Gummel. ibid.
‘There was an unspoken taboo about asking questions.’ ibid. East German athlete
The losses were heartbreaking to the Americans. ibid.
Reproductive problems weren’t the only side effects. The Leipzig doctors were uncovering other risks including heart disease and liver damage. ibid.
Well, when I think of steroids I think of an image. You have the advantage over someone, which is a form of cheating. I guess it wouldn’t be right unless it was legal for everybody. Reason it’s not legal for everybody is because it can hurt people seriously. Evander Holyfield
Anabolic steroids were not banned until after the ’72 Olympics. Bill Toomey
Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest levels, and the quick rewards can outweigh the long term consequences to the user’s health. Howard Berman
There are guys in the game only because of steroids. They couldn’t make it with their natural talent, so they had to enhance themselves. It sucks. David Wells
I do not take steroids. I never have. It’s sad to me that people want to point fingers. I don’t do that. That’s not me. I wouldn’t feel like a human being. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Are we to say that any individual who's on steroids that has an angry moment is due to steroids? What about the individual who gets angry and kills someone who’s not on steroids? What do we blame it on now? Jose Canseco
Sports is once again hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. I’ve been investigating the controversial and dangerous world of sports doping. Horizon: Sports Doping – Winning at Any Cost, BBC 2016
Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK are using steroids. ibid.
Steroids are addictive in 30% of users. ibid.
Caffeine improves performance in a range of sports by up to 3%. ibid.
‘I lost the five Olympics medals … The most devastating loss: the loss of my freedom.’ Marion Jones: Press Pause, opening scene, ESPN 2010
‘I betrayed your trust.’ ibid. courthouse confession
She was a global superstar. ibid.
It was the denials, the multiple public denials … ibid.
Olympic Stadium Seoul South Korea 24th September 1988: ‘What a race; this is the race of this century.’ 9.79, Da Silver in lane one, ESPN 2012
The world record is gone again. ibid. David Coleman
He [Johnson] just didn’t have the core talent. ibid. Lewis
It was a dilemma that every runner in the Seoul race would have to confront at some point in their career. ibid. tester
Some of our results were lost. Some number of cases never saw the light of day. ibid.
Not only had results gone missing, but there was now a new substance on the scene that was not detectable at all to the testers. ibid. commentary
1984: The Growth Hormone Games. ibid.
The main supplier in North America was Robert Kerr, a doctor based in Los Angeles. ibid.
Avoiding a positive required nothing more than looking at a calendar. ibid.
Lewis had tested positive at the US Olympic trials for three illegal stimulants. ibid.
Unbelievable! 9.79! ibid. race commentary
No-one can take it away from me. ibid. Ben’s after-race interview
I said, Well they finally got me. ibid. Ben
The biggest drugs story in Olympics history. ibid. news
Anti-doping experts ... This data – which has come from records held by the IAAF and have never been released before, according to these two experts the evidence which has been seen by the BBC shows that one third of medals in endurance events at Olympics Wold Championships between 2001 and 2012 have been won by athletes who recorded suspicious blood results. BBC News report 2nd August 2015
One of Britain’s greatest sportsmen, the sprinter Linford Christie, has been suspended from athletics on suspicion of taking drugs. ibid. BBC News
People are on drugs, they are in competitions on drugs, and they’re not getting caught. Carl Lewis, London televised interview
Champion or cheat? Legend or liar? Miracle man or a master of deceit? This is the story you don’t know. The drugs. The Deception. And the damage done. Cycling’s Greatest Fraud, National Geographic 2013
1999 the US Pro Cycling team … Lance Armstrong was the team’s rising star and leader. ibid.
Armstrong urges them to start doping … the best team possible. ibid.
EPO: a thermos full of EPO … One of his drugs tests come back positive for Cortisone. ibid.
‘To Americans, Lance Armstrong is cycling superman.’ Storyville: The Lance Armstrong Story: Stop at Nothing, commentary, BBC 2014
Many ex-teammates testified against Lance Armstrong. ibid.
It might never have happened had he hadn’t decided to take a victory lap in 2009. The comeback: what was he thinking? ibid.
‘The Armstrong Lie’ article offered proof that Armstrong’s first Tour win had not been clean. ibid.
Pro cycling continued to suffer through doping scandals. ibid.
‘The man, Lance Armstrong from Texas, now has destroyed the field.’ ibid. UK race commentary, Col d’Aubisque
Even in 1999 Lance came close to getting caught when steroids showed up in a urine test. ibid.