 The profile of the sport reached a new high in the 1980s , with a number of athletes becoming household names ( such as Carl Lewis , <unk> <unk> , Sebastian Coe , <unk> <unk> and Florence Griffith @-@ <unk> ) . Many world records were broken in this period , and the added political element between competitors of the United States , East Germany , and the Soviet Union , in reaction to the Cold War , only served to <unk> the sport 's popularity . The increase in the commercial capacity of track and field was also met with developments in the application of sports science , and there were many changes to coaching methods , athlete 's diet regimes , training facilities and sports equipment . This was also accompanied by an increase in the use of performance @-@ enhancing drugs , and prominent cases , such as those of Olympic gold <unk> Ben Johnson and Marion Jones , damaged the public image and <unk> of the sport . 
