TORONTO -- In a little less than six seconds, Ben Johnson will complete the first step toward his resurrection.
The comeback begins with a 50-meter race next Friday in Hamilton, Ontario, but the disgraced 29-year-old sprinter hopes it eventually leads to the Barcelona Olympics, via a rematch with longtime nemesis Carl Lewis.
Johnson, sounding confident and claiming to be clean two years after his tumble from grace at the Seoul Olympics, says thoughts of Lewis spur his comeback training regimen.
'I'm waiting for that moment,' Johnson said. 'When I train, I think about (Lewis) all the time. I have to prove I'm better than him.'
There will be a great deal of attention paid to hundredths of a second in Hamilton. Johnson's 1987 world-record time was 5.55 seconds for the distance. That time will be used as benchmark to see how far the Jamaican-born sprinter needs to improve to regain the speed he had while training with steroids.
There has been talk of a big money showdown between the Lewis and Johnson, but Johnson must first rekindle interest in the rivalry by indicating he can run well without drugs.
Johnson was stripped of the 100-meter Seoul Olympic gold medal after traces of anabolic steroids were found in his urine.
Stripped of his medal and later his world records, Johnson's automatic two-year suspension expired in late September.
Johnson says his goal is to again reign as the world's fastest man and race for Canada in the 1992 Olympics.
Johnson is noticeably less muscular than when he was powering his way to drug-fueled glory, but says he is as strong as ever and running impressive times in practice. He has passed random drug tests since his suspension ended.
However, Johnson admits he has lost some of his former killer instinct, and there are reports his training has been lackadaisical. He recently admitted his training was hampered by painful tendinitis in both feet, a condition successfully treated by using specially designed supports in his running shoes.
Johnson, who ran a world-record 9.79 seconds when he was disqualified in Seoul, said he recently ran a 60-meter time of 6.57 seconds. While on steroids, he ran it in 6.41 to win the 1987 world indoor championship in Indianapolis. The current world record is 6.50 seconds.
Ed Futerman, the Toronto lawyer who is one of several handlers carefully crafting Johnson's comeback, says the sprinter has lucrative offers to compete around the world but wanted his first race to be in Canada.
Don Bowman, spokesman for the Hamilton Spectator Indoor Games, said media requests for the meet have arrived from around the world and advance ticket sales are already ahead of last year's attendance figure of 7,500. Bowman said a sellout of 17,100 seat Copps Coliseum is possibile.
The race, just before 11 p.m. EDT, will be covered live by Canada's national CTV television network, which is also providing feeds to foreign networks and media.
Johnson's competition includes Andre Cason, of Florida, rated No. 1 at 50 meters indoors and Mike Marsh, of San Diego, rated No. 1 at 55 meters indoors.
Johnson's former coach, Charlie Francis, says he believes Johnson is still the world's fastest man.
As guided by Futerman and other advisers, the resurrection of Johnson's career and image as a Canadian hero has been meticulously planned. Johnson has spoken to countless youth groups about the dangers of drugs, but his media interviews have been rare and carefully handled.
Some critics are highly skeptical of Johnson's comeback chances and the morality of such a return from exile.
'Of course I'm skeptical. He beat the tests for eight years,' said Andy Higgins, a long-time Canadian national coach and mentor at the University of Toronto.
Higgins, a vocal anti-doping spokesman, is outraged Johnson is proferred as a champion of clean athletics and role model for children.
Higgins said Johnson's financially lucrative career before his fall and potentially lucrative comeback reinforces in young people the idea that sport is for material gain and winning is the only thing.NEWLN: ----(UPI)----NEWLN: adv. weekend, Jan. 5-6
