1988, Seoul, the 100 meter race at the Olympics. The 8 fastest men in the world will be competing against each other to get their hands on a gold medal. The clear favorite is Carl Lewis, but nothing is certain in this sport. It’s a race which is watched by millions of people around the world and within 10 seconds the winner is known. It is Ben Johnson with a new world record: 9.79. Only two days later Johnson is stripped from his gold medal after failing a post race drug test. This documentary takes a look at this race and those involved.
The use of performance enhancing drugs in sports is a big issue and the athletes who use them are not always caught immediately (Lance Armstrong comes to mind). 9.79* dives deeper into this world and discusses the race with all athletes involved. It was impressive to see that each contender in that 100 meter race was willing to participate, even Ben Johnson. The rivalry between him and Lewis is brought up several times and it is clear their feelings have not changed over time.
What surprised me about this documentary was how many of the men involved eventually were caught having used or being involved in trade of forbidden performance enhancing drugs. Although that does not say anything about them at the time of the race, the film does bring up some unanswered questions. Growth hormone was used by a lot of athletes and because it stimulates growth in bones as well it meant that many of them had to wear braces. A few shots later we see Lewis wearing them as well, but the question is never asked if he used it (although he probably would not answer). The most shocking though is Johnson’s claim that he was administered the drugs by someone out of Lewis team. That person wasn’t willing to appear in this documentary, but he did not deny he did that. I felt that the reaction Lewis gave also left open that possibility.
This documentary really opened my eyes a bit more about people wanting to be the best in something and their willingness to do that using something which has been forbidden. The competition is probably so strong that they might feel forced to do so. It makes you question whether a sport is still that or if it not getting caught is the actual sport, because the glory follows if you don’t.
These drugs are a HUGE issue in pretty much every sport these days, at least here in the States. Sounds interesting. I’m going to look it up. Thanks.
Yeah and it is something which just keeps evolving. Better to do sports yourself than to watch them I guess 🙂
As a fan of athletics I’m really pleased you brought this to my attention. I hadn’t heard of it previously. Sounds like it’s a fascinating documentary.
Happy to hear I did that. It is fascinating and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Adding to my list of docs to see, sounds like an interesting one!
Cool, I thought it was, so hope you do find it interesting as well.