Sports Where are they now By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Ben Johnson: He was once one of the most revered athletes in Canadian history —for about two days. That was all it took for Ben Johnson to be stripped of his Olympic gold medal and to have his world record 9.79 second 100m dash stricken from the record books. Johnson was caught doping, and his career spiraled downwards after that. Following those games, Johnson was immediately suspended until 1991. He attempted a comeback at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, but he failed to get very far. Then, at a race the following year in Montreal, Johnson was again caught doping, and received a lifetime ban. Johnson then went to work in Libya as a soccer coach for a little while, and in 2005 he launched his own clothing line. Today, he continues to coach various sports. Tim Montgomery: Another disgraced former track star, Montgomery, 33, currently spends his days as an involuntary resident of the American penal system, where he’ll stay for 46 months as a result of a money-laundering scheme that he was indicted for in 2006 and convicted of this May. Those weren’t the only troubles faced by the former world record holder. Montgomery set the world record in 2002 in the 100m dash. However, that didn’t last long as Montgomery was charged in 2004 during the infamous BALCO investigations where he admitted to using steroids and human growth hormones. As a result of this, Montgomery was suspended for two years and had all of his accomplishments, including his world record, stripped from him. Shortly after his suspension was announced, Montgomery retired. That wasn’t the end of his legal woes though, as in May of this year, he was indicted for heroin dealing, and was found with over 100 grams of heroin in his possession. Donovan Bailey: Arguably the greatest track athlete in Canada’s history, Bailey became forever entrenched as a Canadian legend when he took the gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and set a then world record mark of 9.84 in the 100m dash, which lasted until 1999. After his Olympic victory, Bailey organized a 150m race with Michael Johnson in Toronto to determine who was the world’s fastest man in 1997. Bailey won the race and collected the $1.5 million prize. After a devastating ankle injury in 1997, Bailey’s career ended. He then started up his own company called DBX Sports Management and is also the owner of a sports therapy center in Oakville. In 2004, Bailey was enshrined in the Canadian sports Hall of Fame for his remarkable individual performances. Then, in 2006, Bailey was again inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, this time as a member of the Canadian 1996 4x100m Olympic relay team from the 1996 Olympics. Justin Gatlin: The 100m champion at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gatlin, 26, was another temporary track sprinting hero who has had his legacy irreparably tarnished by performance enhancing drugs. In 2001, long before his Olympic triumphs, Gatlin was handed a two- year suspension for his illegal use of amphetamines. Gatlin won the three medals in Athens, including the ultra prestigious 100m-dash competition, and his victories seemed legitimate until July of 2006, where he tested positive for testosterone. Despite denying the allegations, he was slapped with an eight-year ban from track, but later won an appeal to have that sentence reduced to four years. Gatlin has expressed a desire to play in the NFL during his suspension. He has worked out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans several times, as well as the Tennessee Titans once. He had desires to play as a wide receiver. U.S. Gymnasts Steal the Olympic Games By Garth McLennan i the future, when people remember the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, they’ ll think of Michael Phelps and his history making eight gold medals. They’ll recall Usain Bolt’s equally amazing accomplishments on the track. However, for those of us lucky enough to watch the women’s gymnastics, Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson will be the first to spring to mind. The two American gymnasts displayed everything that the Olympics are supposed to be about. Both of them represented the States in the team competition, where America came up short against the host Chinese. However, neither of them were deterred by the silver in the overall team competition. Nastia Liukin, 18, who was born in Moscow, turned in the performance of her life in the singles overall competition. She scored a remarkable 63.325 in the combination of pommel horse, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Shawn Johnson, just 16, took silver in the singles overall contest. Heading into the final event, floor exercise, Johnson was way behind Liukin in scoring. She gave it everything she had though, and demonstrated an absolutely breathtaking performance. The two of them, who roomed together and are best friends, made history, as this was the first time ever that two Americans had finished first and second in the individual all-around competition. who is the defending world champion, took silver in the floor exercise, while Liukin won the bronze. However, Johnson’s quest for an Olympic gold medal wasn’t over. In the final event, balance beam, she finally won a gold, while Liukin finished second. What truly sets Shawn Johnson apart from the rest is that she truly represents sportsmanship in every aspect of the word. After every gymnast finished her routine, Johnson was always the first one there to say congratulations and offer a hug, whether she was competing against them or not. Despite not winning a gold medal until the very end, she always professed how happy she was for Liukin, even though it was a toss up in terms of who performed the best in the individual all-around. After winning gold with a tremendous 16.225 score on the beam, the girl whose smile can light up an entire Johnson, country said it best in a quote to the New York Times: “T’ve never felt so proud and relieved, to finish off this whole Olympics by finally getting the gold medal, it’s the best feeling in the world.”