document: Ben Johnson should be stripped of his world record in the 100-meter dash and it should be awarded to Carl Lewis , many U.S. track and field officials and athletes said Wednesday in the aftermath of Johnson admitting to his steroid use . Johnson testified this week at a Canadian inquiry that his seven-year involvement with illegal performance-enhancing drugs included injections before the 1987 World Championships in Rome , where he set the existing world record of 9.83 seconds . `` I would have to see the evidence , but if he was on drugs at the time of the World Championships , my thought would be to remove his record , '' said Ollan Cassell , executive director of The Athletics Congress , the national governing board for the sport . Cassell is also a vice president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation , the world governing organization . The possibility that Johnson could lose his record was raised when the IAAF asked for `` an urgent legal opinion '' to see what it could do about records and championships of confessed drug users . The issue would be decided at the IAAF Congress , scheduled for Barcelona , Spain , in September . `` The ... actions would allow the IAAF , if it so decided , retroactively to withdraw results obtained and any records achieved by such athletes , '' the statement said . It was not clear , however , whether any action taken by the congress would affect Johnson 's world mark because effective dates of retroactive sanctions would have to be worked out . Frank Greenberg , TAC president , said : `` We 'll wait to see what Canada does , '' following the country 's inquiry at which 40 persons , among them Johnson , his coach , Charlie Francis , and his physician , Jamie Astaphan , testified . `` I feel we will do our best to advocate that our athlete , Carl Lewis , gets the world record , '' Greenberg said . Lewis has the second-fastest legal time in history , 9.92 , in finishing second to Johnson at last year 's Seoul Olympics . Johnson , who clocked 9.79 in that race , lost the record and his gold medal , and was barred from competition for two years after testing positive for an anabolic steroid . There was much discussion among athletes competing this week in the TAC Championships about whether Johnson should be allowed back into the sport after he completes his two-year suspension . Lewis thinks he should . `` He went a long time without telling the truth , but he broke down and he has told the truth , '' said Lewis , a six-time Olympic gold medalist . `` He is giving us an opportunity to believe him , to support him . `` I even heard him speaking out against drugs and that 's the important thing . '' Al Joyner , the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump , said Johnson should be allowed to compete again , only because that is the rule . `` But all his records should be taken because he admitted it , '' Joyner added . `` He killed a lot of fans ... a lot of young kids ... and he almost killed our sport ... he put a dark shadow over it ... because of who he was , '' Joyner said . Sprinter Harvey Glance , a three-time Olympian and president of TAC 's Athletes Advisory Committee , said Johnson should be allowed to return after two years . `` But if he admits he was on anything -LRB- when he set the record -RRB- , then it should go to the next person , Carl Lewis , '' Glance said . `` Only the records will show it and only Ben knows . '' Johnson was tested after his world-record run in Rome , but the results were negative .
extractive_keyphrases: ben johnson world record carl lewis steroid use canadian inquiry world championships
abstractive_keyphrases: 100-meter dash illegal performance-enhancing drugs