Amateur Athletics in America

Track and field athlete Mr. Lewis discussed the state of amateur athletics in America, and government sponsorship of America's Olympic teams. A four-event participant in the 1988 Seoul summer Olympics, he won the gold medal in the long jump, the 200 meter sprint, and anchored the 4 by 100 meter relay team. He finished second to Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in the 100 meter dash, the premier track and field event. Several months after the games, Mr. Lewis was awarded the gold medal. Ben Johnson was stripped of the top award and had his world mark erased from the record books following disclosures that he had been using steroids, which are banned by the International Olympic Committee.