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Topic spans: 1986 - 1997
Running Off Track: The Ben Johnson Story
In 1976, Benjamin Sinclair Johnson was just a skinny immigrant kid struggling to make his high school track team. A decade later, he was a destroyer of world records, the "world's fastest man." Then it all came crashing down. His positive steroid test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics made headlines around the world, forever changing perceptions of Canadian athletes, the sport of track and field, and Ben Johnson.
14 television clips
8 radio clips
Runnin' with 'Big Ben'
Broadcast Date: June 18, 1987
His house is full of trophies, he's won more than 100 awards, and he's developing an entourage, but Ben Johnson says he hasn't gone Hollywood. At least he has time to hang out with What's New host Howard Green. Green gets a tour of the emerging star's house, trophy case and training regimen. And for good measure, Ben leaves him in the dust during an impromptu race.Runnin' with 'Big Ben'
• At age 15, Ben Johnson met coach Charlie Francis. Francis convinced him to join the Scarborough Optimists track and field club, training at York University. He also advised Johnson to get speech therapy to overcome his stutter.• Charlie Francis was a Canadian 100 metre sprint champion himself (1970, 1971 and 1973). He competed for Canada in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Francis was Canada's national sprint coach for nine years.
• While Francis was a technically brilliant coach, he gained a reputation as the enfant terrible of the track world. Detractors said he coddled his charges, getting involved with every aspect of their lives. Some athletes found him paternalistic, smothering, and generally too intense. According to Olympic high jumper Debbie Brill, Francis was "the worst of what coaching can be," demanding complete dependency and adherence to his word.
• At the end of this item, host Howard Green presents Ben Johnson with a toy car. Johnson has always had an affinity for cars, at various times owning a Corvette, a Porsche and his favourite — a black, $245,000 Ferrari Testarossa. Its license plate read "NINE 83" — the world record time he set in Rome in 1987.
There are at least two other famous Ben Johnsons:
• American cowboy actor Ben Johnson (1918-1996) starred in John Ford-directed movies including She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande. He won an Academy Award for his performance as Sam The Lion in The Last Picture Show.
• Elizabethan author Ben Jonson (1572-1637), a contemporary of Shakespeare, was an English dramatist, poet and actor who penned The Satyr, Volpone, Epicoene, or the Silent Woman, The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair.
Runnin' with 'Big Ben'
Medium: Television
Program: What's New
Broadcast Date: June 18, 1987
Guest(s): Charlie Francis, Ben Johnson
Reporter: Howard Green
Duration: 4:57
This clip has been edited for copyright reasons.
Last updated:
March 27, 2008
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22 clips in this topic . page
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Runnin' with 'Big Ben'.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 27, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 14, 2012.]