\n<\/p>\n
At 4am, the phone rang in the hotel room of Colin Hart, who was covering the Seoul Olympics for The Sun. <\/p>\n
“There’s a major story about to break”, Hart was told. It was his first warning that one of the biggest scandals in the history of sport was unfolding.<\/p>\n
Shortly afterwards, BBC host Des Lynam delivered the bombshell news.<\/p>\n
“I’ve just been handed a piece of paper,” he said. “If it’s right, it’ll be the most dramatic story out of these Olympics or perhaps any others”.<\/p>\n
Hart and his journalist room-mate sprang into action.<\/p>\n
“We’re both in our underpants, would you believe it?” he recalls. “Dictating one of the greatest sports stories of the century.”<\/p>\n
That story was about Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter whose bitter rivalry with Carl Lewis felt more like one between two heavyweight boxers.<\/p>\n
Johnson had just powered to victory in the men’s 100m final, smashing the world record with a time of 9.79 secs. But then he tested positive for Stanozolol, a banned performance-enhancing steroid.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t just Johnson – there’s a reason the 1988 men’s 100m final has become known as the ‘dirtiest race in history’. Six of the eight men that lined up that day were linked with performance-enhancing drugs at some point in their careers.<\/p>\n
Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Ben Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n