Ben Johnson Dreams On

Disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson believes his world record, scratched from the books because of drugtaking, will never be beaten.

Johnson, twice called for taking drugs and now banned for life, was timed in 9.79 seconds for the 100 meters and won an Olympic gold medal in Seoul, South Korea, seven years ago. That performance now officially doesn’t exist because the 33-year-old Canadian was stripped of the medal and the record after he tested positive for steroid use.

“Although it has been scrubbed from the list, I still look upon my 9.79 as the world record,” Johnson told the tabloid News of the World.