Former sprinter Ben Johnson believes fellow drug cheat Lance Armstrong can be loved again by the American public.
Disgraced cyclist Armstrong admitted for the first time to taking drugs during his career in an interview with Oprah Winfrey shown during the week.
And Johnson, who was banned for taking steroids at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, has some sympathy for Armstrong.
“American people will forgive him,” he told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.
Ben Johnson: A troubled career
Born: 30 December 1961
Won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in a world record 9.79 seconds
Stripped of the title three days later after it was revealed he had failed a doping test
Admitted the offence a year later at a Canadian government investigation Returned to the sport in 1991 but was found guilty of doping in 1993 Ban was overturned in 1999 and Johnson was given leave to appeal Failed a further test in late 1999
“I don’t think it will be tough for him to make a living. I hope he can move on and do good things. If he can find some way to make a living he will be fine. “I think people will judge him differently, based on what he did for humanity and for cancer.”
Last year Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being labelled a “serial cheat” by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada).
Usada said that Armstrong’s USPS/Discovery Channel professional cycling team operated the “most sophisticated, professional and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”. In the first part of the interview with Winfrey, Armstrong finally ended years of denials by admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
