Ben Johnson’s coach dies at 61
TORONTO, Canada (AP) — Charlie Francis, who coached Ben Johnson when the sprinter became the first athlete to be stripped of an Olympic gold medal for using banned drugs, has died. He was 61.
According to a statement from his family, Francis died Wednesday at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital after a five-year battle with cancer.
Johnson tested positive for the steroid stanozolol after winning the 100 metres at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Athletics Canada banned Francis from coaching for life after he told a 1989 inquiry into the scandal that he had introduced Johnson to steroids.
The Toronto native is survived by his wife and son.
In this 1988 file photo, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson and coach Charlie Francis (right) stand on the track at York University during training in Toronto. (Photo: AP)
