Speed Trap: The Inside Story of Ben Johnson and the Biggest Scandal in Olympic History

by Charlie Francis, Jeff Coplan, Jeff Coplan Charlie Francis

Speed Trap tells the story of Charlie Francis' journey to develop one of the world’s largest and most successful sprint training groups, including one of the Fastest Men of All Time. Written in 1991, Speed Trap chronicles methods used to create an unprecedented training group, virtually self financed and supported by Charlie for the duration of his career. While the book is a great read in terms of the compelling story line surrounding the events of the 1988 Olympics, it also offers incredible insight into the science of sprint training at the most elite level possible.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 1992

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speed Trap is a recounting of the development and evolution of Charlie Francis' speed training techniques, including the use of steroids and other PEDs, and the rise of his team of runners to becoming some of the fastest in the world.

Francis was the trainer of some of the most successful Canadian sprinters ever, including Ben Johnson, and is disarmingly open about how and why his teams used a variety of drugs to push their performance levels to their limits. He also clearly loved sprinting and shares his perspectives on mechanics and general training techniques throughout the book.

I picked up Speed Trap specifically for the Ben Johnson story, which is one I know only through the mainstream U.S. press version - a cheating scandal with Carl Lewis as the hero and Ben Johnson as the villain. Francis' book attempts to turn the story on its head through repeated claims about the widespread use of PEDs in track and field, as well as many other Olympic sports. Francis believes that the use of PEDs was a necessary component to be a viable competitor internationally, and the sports drug testing regime facilitated rather than deterred this behavior. Francis is not necessarily an unbiased narrator, but the perspective he shares throughout Speed Trap is one worth considering.

The narrative is a bit clunky at points (this is not David Halberstam) but the pacing is passable and, once the story begins to focus more on Ben Johnson, I was pulled in. Recommended for anyone interested in Ben Johnson, sprinting, the Olympics or how heroes and villains are built in sports culture.

One side note about hardware - the Kindle version of this book is terribly formatted and has been put together with a less-than-stellar OCR reader without much editing (e.g., rn becomes m). The print version is tough to find as well though so you might not have much of a choice.

[Matthew West · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed many aspects of this book. As a high school track coach, I've been reading about Charlie and his work for years. This specific steroid scandal was not really in my consciousness, so bits of it were cool to learn and read about.

But ultimately it got bogged down in the end with Charlie's attempt to vindicate himself. I don't think he's a bad guy, and if I were in his shoes I may have been forced to do something similar to keep up with the best of the best in the world.

My highlights and focus came during his discussion of technical components of coaching and racing, and his step-by-step breakdown of some of Ben Johnson's notable 100m races. My score went down strictly because I felt burdened with finishing the last 30-40 pages.

[Elaine Den · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an athlete myself, I mainly found the chapters about specific sprint training very interesting. Not just for coaches but also for athletes it’s a good book to compare your own training.

The last few chapters were a bit of a setback compared with the rest of the book. My opinion about Johnson and Lewis got confirmed again (I have also read “The dirtiest race in history”). It sounds like they both don’t care if a race has been won clean or doped, which is a shame in my opinion.

[Geraint Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and eye-opening account of Ben Johnson’s rise and fall, offering sharp insights into the hidden world of elite athletics. While the closing chapters lose some momentum, the book overall is a compelling and thought-provoking read.

[Adrian Boyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very revealing

Worth reading for anyone interested in sport as entertainment and even more so for those interested in training of top athletes

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Johnson is the arguably the most notorious cheat in modern day sports, and lost all credibility when his olympic gold medal was stripped after testing positive at the 1988 Olympic Games. But there is no doubting that he was a magnificent athlete to watch in top form. His explosiveness at the beginning of the 100m race is matched by few others, including Usain Bolt. Charlie Francis tells us about how he trained Ben from his earliest development stage right through to his athletic peak in 1988. He explains in detail the fascinating technicalities of Ben's world records in 1987 and 1988. You also learn about Ben's use of performance enhancing drugs which started in 1982. I think the book humanises Ben to a certain extent. I no longer view him just as 'that dirty cheat', but an athlete who like many others at the time, wanted to be the best. Ben actually comes across as socially awkward but capable of comedy and charm, humble, and with a burning desire to be the fastest.
It is not only about Ben Johnson. There is much information about sprint training in general and valuable information about coaching athletes.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sprinting, athletic coaching and drug use in sport.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inside look at the steroid fiasco with Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympics.