Canadians were shamed , angry , and saddened that sprinter Ben Johnson had been stripped of his Olympic gold Medal for using performance enhancing drugs . Canada 's only Gold Medal was then awarded to second place finisher Carl ##erson of the US in the 100 meter dash . Canadian government officials called the incident a " national embarrassment " and the Sports federation said Johnson should be banned for life from Canada 's Olympic Team . Some Canadian athletes and Johnson 's family expressed support for Johnson ; some expressed sympathy , and others said they had no respect for drug abuse .
Canadians were shamed, angry, and saddened that sprinter Ben Johnson had been stripped of his Olympic Gold Medal for using performance enhancing drugs. Canada's only Gold Medal was then awarded to second place finisher Carl Lewis of the US in the 100 meter dash. Canadian government officials called the incident a "national embarrassment" and the Sports Minister said Johnson would be banned for life from Canada's National Team. Some Canadian athletes and Johnson's family expressed support for Johnson; some expressed sympathy, and others said they had no respect for drug users.