document: Canadians were shamed , angry and saddened Tuesday that national hero Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic gold medal for using drugs to enhance his performance . `` I feel terribly sad for him , '' said Fergus Kilmartin , 36 , of Coquitlam , British Colombia . `` I do n't believe he did it on purpose . He has n't got the guile to do that . '' A disappointed nation awaited the return of the sprinter after a urine sample was found to contain traces of anabolic steroids . Canada 's sole gold medal went to American Carl Lewis , who finished second in the 100-meter dash . `` It puts a dent in Canada , '' said Scott Shaw , a 10th grade student in Calgary , Alberta , said Tuesday . Prime Minister Brian Mulroney , who had thanked the Jamaican-born runner for the `` thrill of a lifetime '' after his record-breaking 9.79-second performance Saturday , called the drug scandal `` a moment of great sorrow for all Canadians . '' Sports Minister Jean Charest , who called the incident `` a national embarrassment , '' said Johnson will be banned from Canada 's national team for life . Charest said his government accepted the validity of the tests and the suspension would be effective pending an appeal from Johnson . But Johnson 's family was left confused and outraged by the turn of events . `` My brother is not guilty , '' a distaught Rodney told reporters in her yard in the Toronto suburb of Rexdale . `` If you could cut him into a million pieces and test him over again _ my brother is not on drugs . '' Outside the townhouse , police were called in to control the crowd and the traffic . Throughout Monday evening , local children attempted to raise a chorus of `` Ben ! Ben ! Ben ! '' only to give up when the crowd would not respond . `` We 've just seen the destruction of a role model , '' said former downhill skier Ken Read , of Calgary , now Canada 's representative on the International Olympic Committee 's athletics commission . It was the second shock to national sports fans in recent months . In August , fans were outraged when hockey legend Wayne Gretzky , another national hero , was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings . Some Canadian athletes expressed sympathy for Johnson . Mike Sokowski , a teammate at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , said : `` Ben 's a pretty simple guy . Ben does not do drugs . He did not knowingly do this . '' Canadian speedskater Gaetan Boucher judged the sprinter harshly , saying he has `` no respect '' for an athlete who takes drugs . Boucher won two gold medals at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo , Yugoslavia . Charest acknowledged that it was suggested to him several months ago that Johnson might be using steroids . `` From time to time people would come to me in a private way _ and this happened one or two times ... that maybe Ben Johnson is using steroids or other drugs , '' he said . He said the allegations came from no one officially connected with the Olympic team and that he had heard similar , unfounded allegations about other atheletes in the past . Johnson was last tested in Canada in February at a Montreal laboratory . Charest said he did n't press Johnson to have a drug test because he thought the sprinter was aware that medal winners at the Olympics would be tested for drugs immediately following competition . `` Everybody knew in advance that Mr. Johnson , if he wins a medal , was going to be tested , '' said Charest .
extractive_keyphrases: ben johnson canadians olympic gold medal sprinter anabolic steroids drug scandal disappointed nation american carl lewis