Ben Johnson's Appeal Denied

September 21, 1998 / 7:17 PM EDT / AP

Ben Johnson remains an outsider in track and field.

The star Canadian sprinter's hopes for one more comeback were dimmed Monday when an appeals court refused to lift his lifetime ban for steroid use.

The ruling was made so swiftly that Johnson appeared stunned. Though 36, he still contends he could run world-class times if allowed to compete again.

The decision comes practically on the 10-year anniversary of Johnson's startling run at the Seoul Olympics when he was timed in 9.79 seconds in the 100 meters but was stripped of his gold medal and world record.

Johnson was suspended for two years after testing positive for steroids at the 1988 Seoul Games. The ban was imposed after a meet in 1993, when Johnson tested positive a second time for steroids.

A three-judge panel of Ontario's appeals court rejected Johnson's bid for reinstatement, ruling that a lower court was correct last summer when it upheld the lifetime ban imposed by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, track and field's governing body.

The court heard from Johnson's lawyer, Gary Boyd, then ruled without even seeking comment from lawyers representing the IAAF.

Johnson's agent and manager, Morris Chrobotek, has suggested Johnson might try to take his case to Canada's Supreme Court if he lost the appeal in Ontario. Neither of them had immediate comment about Monday's decision, but Boyd spoke briefly to reporters.

"Ben is disappointed and I'm disappointed at the outcome," Boyd said. "At this point in time we are going to have to consider what other options are open and decide where we're going to go from here."

Boyd argued that a four-year suspension plus a program of regular drug testing would have been an acceptable alternative to a lifetime ban.

Johnson trains almost full-time in hopes of becoming eligible to race again. He says the ban is unfair because it prevents him from working.

"I'm a human being, allowed to make a living. This is my job," he said last week.

In 1987, Johnson set a world record time of 9.83 seconds and then broke it at Seoul. He lost both records and the medal when he tested positive for an anabolic steroid.

In 1993, Johnson tested positive for an abnormal level of testosterone after a random test at a track meet in Montreal. At the time, he was on a comeback from a two-year suspension after his positive test at Seoul.

His return to sprinting had started at the 1991 Hamilton Indoor Games, where he finished second in the 50 meters in 5.77 seconds. It reached its peak when he raced in a semifinal of the 100 meters at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, finishing last.

Athletics Canada, the ruling body for track and field in Canada, assisted Johnson this year when he was seeking a hearing before the IAAF.

But Hugh Wilson, director of athlete and coach development for Athletics Canada, said the organization believes the lifetie ban was proper.

"Personally, people want Ben Johnson to have a good life and make the most of the gifts that he has but not here in track and field," Wilson said.

Johnson last week had been optimistic about his chances with the appeals court and spoke of returning to world-class competition by December or January at meets in Australia or South Africa.

He calculated he would need eight weeks of intense work to reach peak form and said he could start his comeback with a 100-meter time of around 10.10.

But he also sounded wistful about his past.

"It kind of feels sad to think how fast I could have gone," he said.