Ben Johnson

In 1985, Johnson finally beat Lewis at the World Championships in Canberra, Australia. For the next two years he was the top sprinter in the world, winning the 100 meters in the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow. In 1987 he set four indoor world records and won the outdoor World Championships in Rome with a world-record time of 9.83. In Rome, Johnson finished a meter ahead of Lewis, and was widely hailed as the fastest man on earth and a Canadian national hero.

Lewis told members of the press that some of the other athletes in the Rome competition must be using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He didn't mention Johnson by name, but it was clear that he meant Johnson. Johnson, like the other athletes, was tested after his Rome victory and passed, making it seem that Lewis's charges were unfounded and based only on jealousy. In addition to Lewis's charges, Johnson struggled with a hamstring injury, numerous endorsement deals and business opportunities, and questions about his amateur status; he was making so much money from his endorsements that he hardly qualified as an amateur.