I met Linford Christie back in the 90’s as an 11 year old at Club La Santa in Lanzarote. He took time out of his training schedule to spend a few moments with us and sign some autographs. It was a truly inspiring moment as a young lad even though I was there as a swimmer. He’s a legend to me and reading some of the other comments here he is to others too
Yes, I also met him at an athletics meet in London when I was also about 11 in the 90s. Was signing autographs and I shouted out that I had the same Puma bag. He shouted out "You got style, my boy"! Still, remember it!! haha.
I met Linford at Dublin Airport in the early 90s too when i was 7 or 8 years old. I was petrified to go up to him because he was my hero, but my mum grabbed me and made me go up. He was, of course, top. 39 years old and still thinking of that moment
@@damienmooney3342our comments make no reference to his innocence or guilt. You’re just assuming we think he never took steroids due to our positive experience of meeting him.
That guy is one of kindest and most humble men in the world. A true role model. All this drugs stuff was utter nonsense and the poor guys reputation was tarnished as a result. And, despite how he was treated, he remains an absolute gent. He’s a credit to his parents and remains a national treasure. Well done Linford. Proud of you!
yep... totally trustworthy... i mean... apart from having 2 kids behind his long term partners back... but i'm sure he's telling the truth about the PEDs...
@@ontheslide2339 To think Christie would be taking PEDS some three years into retirement is ridiculous. He only entered a glorified fun run when he supposedly failed a test.
One regret is missing that world record, that would of been the cherry on the cake. The drug thing he explained it.and uk athletics were disgraceful .in what they did to him. after
Linford was the reason I sprinted for my local Athletics club in Liverpool …..he was proven not guilty of any wrong doing in my opinion Linford was the best Sprinter/Athlete to come out of this country ,and I’m glad he’s spoken out about the travesty that was bestowed upon him…even now the guy is in supreme shape and I wish him and his family all the best for the future .
This man along with Sally Gunnell Jonathan Edwards, Roger Black, Denise Lewis, John Regis, Colin Jackson, Kelly Holmes, Steve Backley, Chris Akabusi and Liz McColgan were the true Kings and Queens of British track and field. Proper role models and will forever be in the hearts of my generation. Linford was a beast. Best childhood memories of mine growing up. Thank you.
I remember meeting Linford at Harringay track when I was young kid. A few weeks later, he was baned. My dad told me this was wrong, and he's innocent, and my gut feeling said he was innocent. 20 years later and my gut feeling has always been right.
Even if there cleared of cheating with drugs that accusation says with that person forever people out there will still tarnish u with being a drug cheat .
He is both a lovely person, and deserves happiness, and also he probably took performance enhancing drugs as well, as did almost all sprinters of that time. Two things can be true at the same time.
@@Maruman_manno it wasn’t, it was literally one of the first steroids used in doping, synthesised in the 50’s & already on the banned substance list for Olympic Games by 1974
@@Maruman_man Nandrolone was first synthesized in 1950. It was first introduced, as nandrolone phenylpropionate, in 1959, and then as nandrolone decanoate in 1962.
@@Underhills yes I read up on it. There's a natural forming nandrolone from pork and other meats. So one could get it naturally. I do believe that linford didn't know or hadn't heard of the synthesized version before he was found to have it in him....but..athletes have lied...
Foul play at work I feel. Linford is one of our very best athletes and my thoughts never changed when Linford was going through all of this… great guy and athlete
Go on RUclips and watch guilty people tell the court it wasn’t them. They didn’t do it. Do it now, go see how sincere they are. You can’t judge them by how sincerely they plead innocent, you have to look at the facts / the data. You can’t say "She’s a lovely lady, she wouldn’t do that". Doesn’t work.
Why Not. They take it when being active. They enjoy the power. They Go on taking it. Why shouldn‘t They? Their Body has shut down their own Production.
EGO! Wanted to show the young guns he still had it. None of the winners of any sport are clean, not failing tests means jack shit, theyre all at it and to think othwrwise is naive. They all believe they are actually clean, they truly think that, hence how they look down upon those 'caught'. The whole Russian doping thing of late is distraction and making out that 'we' are the good guys on our high and mighty perch. It's all a sham!
As an aspiring sprinter 35 years ago when Christie was in his pomp I was a huge huge fan , the speed and power of the man , I sooo much want to believe him
Yeah ok but the only athlete who ever really suffered all his life was Ben Johnson. He did what everbody was doing, including Lewis and Christie, before and after. They stripped him of all his medals and records and therefore took all his future income earnings away. Christie retired a millionaire and still has all his medals even though he failed 2 drug tests, one in Seoul when Ben was caught.
He failed more than 1 test in his career. He also failed a test at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and was very, very lucky to have the British Olympic Team battling for him in his appeal. He was acquitted by a vote of 11-10 when the IOC gave him 'the benefit of the doubt'.
He had taken Ginseng a natural herbal supplement. The trouble is a lot of these natural supplements can have hidden hidden things in them without you knowing. Like the poor Scottish skier who had a cold, took a Vicks inhaler before the race thinking it was the same as the UK, only to find it had a banned substance in the formula in it in the country he was competing in. He lost his bronze medal.
Based on what ? You know how hard to be 100% clean ? There are some who have unknowingly taken through normal food, inhalers etc and are banned. Of he wasn't he wasnt
Rubbish you took that info straight from the documentary and the statement from one of the panel whose first language was not English. Then you have ignored the fact that it was found to be a trace of a stimulant added to the Korean ginseng he was drinking there. He had to present that product to the panel to be lab-tested and wasn't "very, very lucky", the GB team supported him; if they thought he was guilty they would have let him hang out to dry. The type of stimulant was like that found in cough medicine and not enough to even increase his performance in walking up the stairs faster than normal, let alone improve performance in an Olympic sprint final (in which he didn't win btw, but originally came 3rd, far behind the drug-cheat winner). At the time, in many communities, ginseng tea was accepted as a recommended desirable, healthy, herbal tea, so relax with the baseless, glass-half-empty accusations already. It's tiresome. In fact, the team were actually 'very lucky' to have him and have never had a 100m sprinter like him since. Why did predecessors like Alan Wells not get this negative attention, despite his meteoric rise from being an average long jumper to looking like a light-heavyweight boxer and becoming Olympic 100m champion? Why no spotlight on others from that era who actually did transform but were not challenged, due to their support system and ready lawyers, like the Wh*tbread's of the day?
@@MajikBoxx He was a drug cheat. He failed more than one test. He was extremely lucky not to be thrown out of Seoul in disgrace. "He took herbal tea" Jesus - any idea how lame that sounds? But you keep on defending him all you like. Justice was eventually done in the end. As for your - presumably rhetorical - question as to why Alan Wells never got such negative attention...well, son...read this slowly...it's because he. never. failed. a. drug. test. Unlike Christie. Who failed two.
Where's your evidence for that. The only test Lewis ever 'failed' was when he was found with 6ppm of stimulants before the Seoul Olympics, a level that only warranted 'further investigation' not a ban. The IAAF accepted that the stimulants were accidentally ingested and the level Lewis tested at wouldn't even count as a positive test under today's rules.
@@crispyduck1706true. Carl Lewis tested positive to the same stuff a few months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and was informed of this. Yet the US Olympic committee, who were also aware, ignored this and allowed him to compete. This is well documented in numerous books. Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, Linford Christie all on the same stuff. Oh that's right - Christie started taking Nandralone AFTER he retired from running. As one does.
When I watched this I couldn't believe what I was watching it's one of the saddest things I've watched. People's vindictiveness cost him a lot and the hypocrisy of the IOC is incredible they have a known drugs cheat like Carl Lewis lighting the Olympic flame and this guy wasn't allowed to coach his athletes at the Olympics. Don't even get me started on the press...
He was almost bankrupt clearing his name in the first place. Let's not forget he was retire a few years when this test happened. He probably just thought it's just not worth the hassle.
Did they mention the 2011 car crash where he was at fault and then treated the victims of that crash as absolutely nothing. Perhaps a great if tainted athlete and a deeply flawed man.
He hadn't heard of the drug but it doesn't mean it wasn't part of a cocktail his coaches gave. Negative test the next time = remembered to take the masking agent
I loved watching Christie back in the day and he seems like a genuinely lovely guy. There is a palpable sadness in him. A lot of energy, pride and emotional investment in his denials of cheating. But you can tell his ego got the better of him with that post retirement failed drugs test. He wanted just one more hit from performing and winning. I can only imagine what the pressure is like at that top level of sport with the desire to be best and be adored. Things have moved on a lot since those days and its a lot harder to take PEDs and not get caught.
Its easier now, Ben johnson recently came out and said that PEDs can be untraceable within 12 hours of consumptio nowadays. Sport, particularly the big money sports like soccer, tennis, gridiron, baseball, cricket, rugby even golf, all at it and protected because its big business. Doped athletes means low income because people lose faith that sport is real/untainted. So you create a bent syatem that outs the odd one or two to show the slaves that thw circus is clean and doing the right thing. Keeps tge slaves distracted from whata really going on in the world and blowing theit resources on watching the circus, evwn justifying the elites spunking their taxes on the circus. All the whilst creaming billions as well as control and power. If you're not on it you aint winning.
At the Tokyo Olimpics the british 4 by 100 mt relay got disqualified after the final, where they came second to Italy, cause one of the athletes got cought for doping. The cheek was they were trying to turnish the italians' win saying they were on dope, when infact it was them to be on it. No italians was ever found guilty of the britishers accusations. Linford Christie a great guy indeed, but for christ sake you just had to look at his phisique to realize he totally was doping. People are not blind nor stupid.
He’s been exposed because he’s a cheat and has taken PED’s. If you think those at the top are clean, with respect you are delusional. Do some research and I’ll give you a starter for 10, Victor Conte.
@@rufdymondof course there’s proof British Athletics are NOT in charge in Britain not anywhere else, he took drugs got caught and lied and yes so did many athletes but he GOT CAUGHT……
In that case the sport is a farce and a joke. Not everybody takes them though. In fact probably most don’t but a sizeable amount do and they are likely the medal winners.
If that is true, I’d love hear your explanation for why despite huge advances in training, diet, tracks, professionalism, the number of dedicated athletes since the 1980s that so many of the Women’s World Records remain from the days before proper drug testing?
@@G-Man78 It’s also the throwing events, which aren’t dominated by Africans. There’s also FloJos ludicrous times, no American or Jamaican has got near since. A high percentage of the greatest Hepthaletes are of African heritage yet JJK record still stands from 1988. The ‘all athletes dope’ argument collapses in the face of women’s world records. I think there’s 8 Olympic women’s T&F events with world records still standing from pre random testing 1980s.
@karl8805 USA Florence Griffith who has the longest world record in track and field history retired a year before new testing where to be implemented.
If that is true, I’d love hear your explanation for why despite huge advances in training, diet, tracks, professionalism, the number of dedicated athletes since the 1980s that so many of the Women’s World Records remain from the days before proper drug testing?
You have to juice to be a high level sprinter, same as bodybuilding at the highest level. It gives you such a massive advantage. Men with no drugs would struggle to keep up with the juiced up women.
It doesn’t buuuuuuuuut there are bison roaming the Great Plains of Wyoming with access to nandrolone and then they turn them into burritos which causes you to fail the test. Pretty common actually
@thefatlosscode365: Nandrolone also never just disappears from your system within a matter of days or even weeks, yet Christie's second drug test showed there was ZERO nandrolone in his system. Waiting for your explanation of that.
Strange as it may seem but he failed a drug test in 1988 after finishing 3rd in the 100 metres and was then promoted to second after Ben Johnson was disqualified, a cheat that deserves no respect.
I watched the complete documentary and I feel real sorry for Linford on how the media treated him. But I feel the documentary glossed over the reason why Linford felt the need to take Ginseng in Seoul and the supplements he took in his last competition that caused him all the problems...
that was beyond sad. Every GNC, which was where all of us went to get supplements in the 80s and 90s were selling all kinds of contaminated supplements that had things not on the labels. Were they ever prosecuted for it?
Linford Christie was my hero. I watched every televised race from 1988 until his retirement seeing his development into Olympic Champion in 1992 and his disqualified final in the Atlanta games in 1996. He could have been a TV personality and Team GB coach and have continued to be a loved and respected celebrity and he threw it all away. I don’t feel sorry for him, I still feel gutted and disappointed by him.
Who cares if he actually did it...I inject nandrolone weekly for joint pain and that doesn't make me a bad person or a cheater. I'm 68 years old and just trying to keep my mobility as I age.
To this day I can’t understand why an apology has not been given. a retired sprinter cheating? Why , what would be the point? They tested him again and he was negative. That alone should raise concern. It’s so easy to contaminate samples. He challenged and won. But another department wanted him to come and defend him self even after he was cleared . And they kept the original result. I never believed he cheated. The greatest track and field sprinter we’ve ever had and they destroyed him. They even banned him for two years but he’d retired from the sport. This gets me so angry. IAAF C**TS the lot of them
I'm not a sprinter, have never been an athlete and I knew what Nandrolone was at that time. In that era it was widely talked about in the media as a method of improving performance in sports especially sprinters. You would think that you'd find out the banned substances and make sure you didn't take them.
Whenever someone mentioned Linford I always used to say drugs cheat, nandrolone. I feel like I’m pretty good at reading people. My BS meter wasn’t flickering during the documentary, Linford is an honest & decent man as far as I’m concerned. Laugh at that if you will, he’s even the most convincing liar or telling the truth
The one thing I have not seen in the comments is that he also refused to be tested prior to this one, on the basis that he had retired. The British governing body did not bother to do anything, but should have given him a two year ban. Had they done so he would not have been able to run in this race and might still have his reputation intact. The CEO later admitted not banning him for the missed test was a mistake.
Nandrolone doesn't just disappear from your system within a matter of days, or even weeks. Yet Christie's second test showed there was no nandrolone in his system. Explain that.
Half life 6 days, detection windows 18 months. Probably dose dependant. A reason to take steroids after retiring, could be to increase recovery from stress and possibly nagging injuries, that made him retire? Possibly tainted supplements. Since the second test was negative, too much time between the first and second test had passed?
Not nandrolone decanoate which stays in your system weeks even months. But athletes started using nandrolone phenol propionate which is in and out of your system in a few days
Hero of mine when i was a kid, i didnt care that he was black,i didnt care about the press stupid lunchbox stuff.....he was fast and he was British and i loved hm for it. HERO
Only someone who knows nothing of sports science, sports nutrition, specific resistance training, natural genetics and cardio/sprint training 6-days a week, until you also have only 5-7% body fat by competition time (as opposed to the average 18-24%); would make a ridiculous 'steroid body' comment like that.
To black, too strong, your Jamaican and we love you first and foremost - I stopped watching after 3:12 - boring - you'll always be an inspiration to us all
Used to see him training in the shed at West London when doing Wednesday night open meetings. Also used to train with one of his ex-girlfriends. Everybody I knew that knew him where shocked when they heard the news. He was one of the most tested athletes during his career and to get a positive after retirement made no sense. Marlene Ottey also had a false positive around the same time which she got lifted.
Kicking an athlete out of sport contention for life for a single offense is crazy. Appropriate discipline, yes. And anyone who thinks it's right has never had their lively hood based on reaching their physical peak.
How do these guys make serious accusations like this, then sit back and place the burden of proof on then accused? 'Come to Monaco and explain why our test was improperly handled and probably rigged'.... It's ridiculous!
Please do not associate Monaco or Monegasque people with such organisations. Just because they're based in Monaco, doesn't mean you are entitled to mention the Principality. Got it?
@@Venmaylove What part of my post associated the IAAF with the people of Monaco? You've completely missed the point, and your hostilities are misplaced. Please, engage someone else...
@@marksewe114 I think you can explain yourself infront a jury when you are not broken, but in his case he was clearly broken by the news and could not stand for himself. Sometimes it is beyond your strength.
This man was dirty at the '92 Olympics when he won gold and they swept the test under the rug because the high-ups felt there was no way the sport could survive two scandals in a row in the men's 100 meters. Linford, like ALL the other great sprinters of this era, was a heavy doper. When they hell are they ALL going to come clean (pun intended) and just tell the truth about all of it? They're too afraid of getting stripped of their accolades and that is the only reason.
Linford is a legend and didn't deserve what he went through. However, after being cleared by the UK governing body, he should have continued to fight to clear his name with the IAAF. Instead, he chose to stop, seemingly refusing to attend the hearing, leading to the reinstatement of the charge and his subsequent ban, which has caused him suffering for the last 25 years. The mounting legal bills and emotional stress were a factor and took their toll at the time.
Well if the risk is you get banned from a sport that you couldn't make money in if you didn't cheat and the reward is making a lot of money as a professional athlete, it's definitely worth it. Look at the long distance runners, grow up in poverty or take Epo and have a chance at a better life. It's an absolute no brainer
Nothing worse than when you discover that your hero is a cheat. I suspect there have been quite a few athletes over the years who have got away with it undetected like a certain MF. Oh and cycling where you mention you had asthma as a child and have to go halfway round the world for a remedy just in case on the off chance it comes back.
He cheated. Period. I'm a proud fan of Team GB ... but it's undeniable. He got caught a tthe end (largely because he couldn't bear to step away from the spotlight as he aged) ... but you check out his physical body shape over the years and there is absolutely no doubt that he was chemically enhanced. If you still don't believe me, then ask yourself how he managed to improve as he aged AND (most revealing of all) keep up with Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and all the others from his era who were caught cheating.
Nandrolone is naturally occurring. Several athletes, Jaap Stam comes to mind, tested positive for what was considered to be elevated levels at the time but which was subsequently found to be within the bounds of natural levels in some people. That, combined with the ridiculous notion of a retired athlete taking a PED, leads to the conclusion that the case against Linford was BS!
It’s a difficult one. Christie was a huge star for me growing up. I know he was being goaded by the new sprinters of the time that he was past it and couldn’t win anymore. The logic that he might have felt it worth taking a little something in training to help teach these kids a lesson seemed plausible. As he says, it wasn’t like a title was on the line, it would just be helping an older guy get back to good form. But he seems pretty adamant about it. The only thing that does make me question is the claim he didn’t even know what nandrolone was, that seems unlikely. Also his refusal to go to the IOC to argue his case again seemed a bit strange. But you just don’t know. Maybe a coach unwittingly gave him something but these athletes are meticulous about what they ingest. It just remains unresolved to me.
I met Linford Christie back in the 90’s as an 11 year old at Club La Santa in Lanzarote. He took time out of his training schedule to spend a few moments with us and sign some autographs. It was a truly inspiring moment as a young lad even though I was there as a swimmer. He’s a legend to me and reading some of the other comments here he is to others too
Yes, I also met him at an athletics meet in London when I was also about 11 in the 90s. Was signing autographs and I shouted out that I had the same Puma bag. He shouted out "You got style, my boy"! Still, remember it!! haha.
I met Linford at Dublin Airport in the early 90s too when i was 7 or 8 years old. I was petrified to go up to him because he was my hero, but my mum grabbed me and made me go up. He was, of course, top.
39 years old and still thinking of that moment
So because he was nice to you, he never took steroids ?
@@damienmooney3342our comments make no reference to his innocence or guilt. You’re just assuming we think he never took steroids due to our positive experience of meeting him.
Seen him in peurto banus a few year ago, nice individual and he was in insane shape for his age
That guy is one of kindest and most humble men in the world. A true role model. All this drugs stuff was utter nonsense and the poor guys reputation was tarnished as a result. And, despite how he was treated, he remains an absolute gent. He’s a credit to his parents and remains a national treasure. Well done Linford. Proud of you!
Here here....
Bollox
yep... totally trustworthy...
i mean... apart from having 2 kids behind his long term partners back...
but i'm sure he's telling the truth about the PEDs...
@@ontheslide2339 To think Christie would be taking PEDS some three years into retirement is ridiculous. He only entered a glorified fun run when he supposedly failed a test.
He's a legend and was my hero when growing up. It makes me sad to think he was treated like this.
The way this geezer was treated by the media was absolutely disgraceful. National treasure and treated like a criminal. Horrible, just horrible.
Guess why ?
@@G-Man78is it because he’s black like David Beckham?
@@CheersDits2979 nah, because he's a victim of _'tWo tIeR PoLiCiNg'_ and a lack of _'fReE SpEeCh'_ 👌🏿
The media loves to build up a hero and then tear them down again
One regret is missing that world record, that would of been the cherry on the cake. The drug thing he explained it.and uk athletics were disgraceful .in what they did to him. after
When I used to run track, I remember this man… A legend.
My mother met this man while he was doing charity work, she spoke so highly of him, a true gent on and off the track.
Linford was the reason I sprinted for my local Athletics club in Liverpool …..he was proven not guilty of any wrong doing in my opinion Linford was the best Sprinter/Athlete to come out of this country ,and I’m glad he’s spoken out about the travesty that was bestowed upon him…even now the guy is in supreme shape and I wish him and his family all the best for the future .
This man along with Sally Gunnell Jonathan Edwards, Roger Black, Denise Lewis, John Regis, Colin Jackson, Kelly Holmes, Steve Backley, Chris Akabusi and Liz McColgan were the true Kings and Queens of British track and field. Proper role models and will forever be in the hearts of my generation. Linford was a beast. Best childhood memories of mine growing up. Thank you.
Superb list. Genuine legends, all of them
But, but, but ... what about C R A M M Y ? ! ! !
@MarkGerald78 well said champ..human beings got very short memories.
ive never heard of Edwards Roger, and Black Denis Lewis is a bit below the belt mate. There wasn't even a white one.
@rfcalm Jonathan Edward was brilliant triple jumper..yes an English white man. What race has got to do with British achievement?
I have met Linford in person. He's absolutely gentleman. Good soul.
@@hazzyhugh8729 he's the devil.
@@mrsoft7022 shut up
@@BrAnDoN67k no
@@mrsoft7022 shut up
@@BrAnDoN67k no you are fast asleep 😴
I remember meeting Linford at Harringay track when I was young kid. A few weeks later, he was baned. My dad told me this was wrong, and he's innocent, and my gut feeling said he was innocent. 20 years later and my gut feeling has always been right.
Even if there cleared of cheating with drugs that accusation says with that person forever people out there will still tarnish u with being a drug cheat .
Don't be silly
He was a drug cheat, though. It's irrefutable.
Every single person who’s ran under 10 have taken PEDS.
He is both a lovely person, and deserves happiness, and also he probably took performance enhancing drugs as well, as did almost all sprinters of that time. Two things can be true at the same time.
I love Linford, what a specimen of a man. However to suggest you have never heard of Nandrolone is ridiculous.
He meant at the time. It was a new performance drug then
@@Maruman_manno it wasn’t, it was literally one of the first steroids used in doping, synthesised in the 50’s & already on the banned substance list for Olympic Games by 1974
@@Maruman_manno it wasnt
@@Maruman_man Nandrolone was first synthesized in 1950. It was first introduced, as nandrolone phenylpropionate, in 1959, and then as nandrolone decanoate in 1962.
@@Underhills yes I read up on it. There's a natural forming nandrolone from pork and other meats. So one could get it naturally. I do believe that linford didn't know or hadn't heard of the synthesized version before he was found to have it in him....but..athletes have lied...
Foul play at work I feel.
Linford is one of our very best athletes and my thoughts never changed when Linford was going through all of this… great guy and athlete
Go on RUclips and watch guilty people tell the court it wasn’t them. They didn’t do it. Do it now, go see how sincere they are. You can’t judge them by how sincerely they plead innocent, you have to look at the facts / the data. You can’t say "She’s a lovely lady, she wouldn’t do that". Doesn’t work.
God bless him that is heartbreaking!
I don't get why anyone would take drugs after they had retired.That doesn't make sense.
Why Not. They take it when being active. They enjoy the power. They Go on taking it. Why shouldn‘t They? Their Body has shut down their own Production.
Old habits never die.
Some allergy medication is steriods based. Even in the foods you eat, if you live in certain places.
EGO!
Wanted to show the young guns he still had it.
None of the winners of any sport are clean, not failing tests means jack shit, theyre all at it and to think othwrwise is naive.
They all believe they are actually clean, they truly think that, hence how they look down upon those 'caught'.
The whole Russian doping thing of late is distraction and making out that 'we' are the good guys on our high and mighty perch. It's all a sham!
Gym. He was still working out.
As an aspiring sprinter 35 years ago when Christie was in his pomp I was a huge huge fan , the speed and power of the man , I sooo much want to believe him
Don't believe the hype he's a fraud
@@mrsoft7022says the nobody on RUclips 🙄🙄🤡🤡🤡🤡☝🏽
@@thesaintst1851 that was your name given to you by your parents... The Nobody.
Don’t be naive everybody in track and field dopes
Yeah ok but the only athlete who ever really suffered all his life was Ben Johnson. He did what everbody was doing, including Lewis and Christie, before and after. They stripped him of all his medals and records and therefore took all his future income earnings away. Christie retired a millionaire and still has all his medals even though he failed 2 drug tests, one in Seoul when Ben was caught.
Another athlete in America, Marion Jones, was completely deleted from the history books.
Love Linford, always have always will. No1
He failed more than 1 test in his career. He also failed a test at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and was very, very lucky to have the British Olympic Team battling for him in his appeal. He was acquitted by a vote of 11-10 when the IOC gave him 'the benefit of the doubt'.
He had taken Ginseng a natural herbal supplement. The trouble is a lot of these natural supplements can have hidden hidden things in them without you knowing. Like the poor Scottish skier who had a cold, took a Vicks inhaler before the race thinking it was the same as the UK, only to find it had a banned substance in the formula in it in the country he was competing in. He lost his bronze medal.
Based on what ? You know how hard to be 100% clean ? There are some who have unknowingly taken through normal food, inhalers etc and are banned. Of he wasn't he wasnt
Watch the actual documentary. It will give you a deep perspective and understanding than the media headlines.
Rubbish you took that info straight from the documentary and the statement from one of the panel whose first language was not English. Then you have ignored the fact that it was found to be a trace of a stimulant added to the Korean ginseng he was drinking there. He had to present that product to the panel to be lab-tested and wasn't "very, very lucky", the GB team supported him; if they thought he was guilty they would have let him hang out to dry. The type of stimulant was like that found in cough medicine and not enough to even increase his performance in walking up the stairs faster than normal, let alone improve performance in an Olympic sprint final (in which he didn't win btw, but originally came 3rd, far behind the drug-cheat winner). At the time, in many communities, ginseng tea was accepted as a recommended desirable, healthy, herbal tea, so relax with the baseless, glass-half-empty accusations already. It's tiresome. In fact, the team were actually 'very lucky' to have him and have never had a 100m sprinter like him since. Why did predecessors like Alan Wells not get this negative attention, despite his meteoric rise from being an average long jumper to looking like a light-heavyweight boxer and becoming Olympic 100m champion? Why no spotlight on others from that era who actually did transform but were not challenged, due to their support system and ready lawyers, like the Wh*tbread's of the day?
@@MajikBoxx He was a drug cheat. He failed more than one test. He was extremely lucky not to be thrown out of Seoul in disgrace. "He took herbal tea" Jesus - any idea how lame that sounds? But you keep on defending him all you like. Justice was eventually done in the end. As for your - presumably rhetorical - question as to why Alan Wells never got such negative attention...well, son...read this slowly...it's because he. never. failed. a. drug. test. Unlike Christie. Who failed two.
Thanks for the video, BBC
You can tell this man is telling the truth!
Hope your living an awesome life linford😊
He took drugs , no smoke without fire
Carl Lewis was on drugs too 🤦♀️
Where's your evidence for that. The only test Lewis ever 'failed' was when he was found with 6ppm of stimulants before the Seoul Olympics, a level that only warranted 'further investigation' not a ban. The IAAF accepted that the stimulants were accidentally ingested and the level Lewis tested at wouldn't even count as a positive test under today's rules.
Foolish comment
@@crispyduck1706true.
Carl Lewis tested positive to the same stuff a few months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and was informed of this.
Yet the US Olympic committee, who were also aware, ignored this and allowed him to compete.
This is well documented in numerous books.
Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, Linford Christie all on the same stuff.
Oh that's right - Christie started taking Nandralone AFTER he retired from running.
As one does.
FACTS!
@@crispyduck1706lewis failed drugs tests. FACT
Youre still a legend and foreverer our champion!!
I think by now it's common knowledge that absolutely every athlete is on the juice.
I think it's crazy how people only focus on their event for 6 days a week training for 4 years etc.
Bad mindset dude.
Wow,I never knew this except he was an outstanding sprinter and wondered whatever happened to him.
When I watched this I couldn't believe what I was watching it's one of the saddest things I've watched. People's vindictiveness cost him a lot and the hypocrisy of the IOC is incredible they have a known drugs cheat like Carl Lewis lighting the Olympic flame and this guy wasn't allowed to coach his athletes at the Olympics. Don't even get me started on the press...
A legend for me growing up….when I was proud to be British.
Brother Christie was a beast.
Really stupid to go through the U.K athletics investigation, and then not see it through with the IAAF.
He was almost bankrupt clearing his name in the first place. Let's not forget he was retire a few years when this test happened. He probably just thought it's just not worth the hassle.
I’m sure he was taking them!
They probably had a different criteria & threshold of proof…
Even more stupid that he was a retired athlete, they went after his legacy.
Love Linford. He is clean...
Every single men’s 100m runner that were competitive took PEDs
Finally, a sensible comment.
Every one of them including Usain bolt
I like Linford Christie but he peaked very late in life similar to Johnson and I always wonder.
They were all on something... except my personal favourite who was pure as the driven snow. My whole self concept depends on it.
@@TrulyUniqueOnehe stopped when his times drastically dropped
Did they mention the 2011 car crash where he was at fault and then treated the victims of that crash as absolutely nothing. Perhaps a great if tainted athlete and a deeply flawed man.
Greatest uk athlete hands down.
He hadn't heard of the drug but it doesn't mean it wasn't part of a cocktail his coaches gave. Negative test the next time = remembered to take the masking agent
He knew EXACTLY what it is and what it does.
I loved watching Christie back in the day and he seems like a genuinely lovely guy. There is a palpable sadness in him. A lot of energy, pride and emotional investment in his denials of cheating. But you can tell his ego got the better of him with that post retirement failed drugs test. He wanted just one more hit from performing and winning. I can only imagine what the pressure is like at that top level of sport with the desire to be best and be adored. Things have moved on a lot since those days and its a lot harder to take PEDs and not get caught.
Its easier now, Ben johnson recently came out and said that PEDs can be untraceable within 12 hours of consumptio nowadays.
Sport, particularly the big money sports like soccer, tennis, gridiron, baseball, cricket, rugby even golf, all at it and protected because its big business. Doped athletes means low income because people lose faith that sport is real/untainted.
So you create a bent syatem that outs the odd one or two to show the slaves that thw circus is clean and doing the right thing.
Keeps tge slaves distracted from whata really going on in the world and blowing theit resources on watching the circus, evwn justifying the elites spunking their taxes on the circus. All the whilst creaming billions as well as control and power.
If you're not on it you aint winning.
Yes he may have been a nice guy , he was still in the juice
Why would you not show up for the IAAF hearing, that has nothing to do with UK Athletics, that was arrogant and stupid, and it cost him.
I would of been more surprised if he wasn't taking drugs.
❤
They all were. They all are.
Why did you say that twice? I don’t know…..I don’t know
@@unskilledbuilds9552 ?
@@unskilledbuilds9552 Read it again.
At the Tokyo Olimpics the british 4 by 100 mt relay got disqualified after the final, where they came second to Italy, cause one of the athletes got cought for doping. The cheek was they were trying to turnish the italians' win saying they were on dope, when infact it was them to be on it. No italians was ever found guilty of the britishers accusations.
Linford Christie a great guy indeed, but for christ sake you just had to look at his phisique to realize he totally was doping. People are not blind nor stupid.
They were so worried about banning a retired athlete that they broke a man
He’s been exposed because he’s a cheat and has taken PED’s. If you think those at the top are clean, with respect you are delusional. Do some research and I’ll give you a starter for 10, Victor Conte.
If you think Linford wasn't doped, you are naive. Full stop
@@cliffkennell3854- Why, we are all entitled to our opinion. You have no proof that he was….
@@rufdymondof course there’s proof British Athletics are NOT in charge in Britain not anywhere else, he took drugs got caught and lied and yes so did many athletes but he GOT CAUGHT……
@@davidwalker2402 No he didn't the entire process was stupid and unprofessional. Besides there is no point in taking drugs when your retired.
Legend
Everyone in Track and field dopes, you just have to not get caught😂😂
In that case the sport is a farce and a joke. Not everybody takes them though. In fact probably most don’t but a sizeable amount do and they are likely the medal winners.
really simple, simple pov
If that is true, I’d love hear your explanation for why despite huge advances in training, diet, tracks, professionalism, the number of dedicated athletes since the 1980s that so many of the Women’s World Records remain from the days before proper drug testing?
@@daffyduck4674 and many of those world records in the sprints are from Europeans. We all know those of African ancestry tend to be faster. 🤷🏿♂️
@@G-Man78 It’s also the throwing events, which aren’t dominated by Africans. There’s also FloJos ludicrous times, no American or Jamaican has got near since.
A high percentage of the greatest Hepthaletes are of African heritage yet JJK record still stands from 1988.
The ‘all athletes dope’ argument collapses in the face of women’s world records. I think there’s 8 Olympic women’s T&F events with world records still standing from pre random testing 1980s.
Out of the 6 fastest men ever, 5 have been suspended for doping. Only the fastest ever has never been caught. 😂😂😂.
And he retired top of his game as soon as......
New tests were being brought in.
Says it all
@@karl8805 because bolt was at the top of his game in 2017? Lmfao
I am pretty sure Bolt has also been juicing. But he was such a drawn for the sport and cowcash for sponsorship so I doubt it’ll ever come out.
Yes. He juiced on the juicy yams, bananas, dasheen and breadfruit we have here in Jamaica.@@eunoiaeudaimonia6829
@karl8805 USA Florence Griffith who has the longest world record in track and field history retired a year before new testing where to be implemented.
LEGEND
This is a sad story.
Pretty much every high level athlete in sports are doping at some level. This guy still looks juiced now 😂
If that is true, I’d love hear your explanation for why despite huge advances in training, diet, tracks, professionalism, the number of dedicated athletes since the 1980s that so many of the Women’s World Records remain from the days before proper drug testing?
You have to juice to be a high level sprinter, same as bodybuilding at the highest level. It gives you such a massive advantage. Men with no drugs would struggle to keep up with the juiced up women.
He's as clean as Bradley Wiggins.
Now he knows how Ben Johnson was treated when the whole line up in the 1988 final was on juice, and Linford was also running in that final!
He was at the end of his career when the biggest test failure happened, as i recall, and it seemed to be quickly brushed under the carpet.
A British legend THX
Nandrolone doesn't just appear in a test out of nowhere :)
It doesn’t buuuuuuuuut there are bison roaming the Great Plains of Wyoming with access to nandrolone and then they turn them into burritos which causes you to fail the test. Pretty common actually
it’s often found in Oxen as well
@thefatlosscode365: Nandrolone also never just disappears from your system within a matter of days or even weeks, yet Christie's second drug test showed there was ZERO nandrolone in his system. Waiting for your explanation of that.
@@fayensu if that was the case, why did the IAFF keep the ban in place? Waiting for your answer on that
@@fayensu He used the Russian Procedure.
It’s politics in the sporting world. What has he got to gain from taking a banned substance when he’s already retired….
He was using before hand. It was a known secret that all the sprinters were and are
@@larrygerry985 do you have any evidence for this?
Ok, so the same as Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis, and 6 out of 8 of those in the 1988 olympic games 100m final. Keep on taking the crack pipe.
Strange as it may seem but he failed a drug test in 1988 after finishing 3rd in the 100 metres and was then promoted to second after Ben Johnson was disqualified, a cheat that deserves no respect.
@@jar-jardo some research. There is a reason so many Workd Records still stand from the 80s & 90s.
I watched the complete documentary and I feel real sorry for Linford on how the media treated him. But I feel the documentary glossed over the reason why Linford felt the need to take Ginseng in Seoul and the supplements he took in his last competition that caused him all the problems...
Go on..
He is Jamaican born, especially us men love to drink Ginseng supposedly good for stamina and sex drive.
@@zumaanandrade3961 Granted but buying it in Korea from an unknown source prior to a competition sounds at best naive and at worst stupid.
@@alho9231 I don't know... it's sold in the east everywhere. I lived in Hawaii and it's all over the place. but I understand what you are saying.
Naive …Korea would sell the highest quality not the lowest.. and purity you obviously don’t know Korean ginseng from the homeland
that was beyond sad. Every GNC, which was where all of us went to get supplements in the 80s and 90s were selling all kinds of contaminated supplements that had things not on the labels. Were they ever prosecuted for it?
Linford Christie was my hero. I watched every televised race from 1988 until his retirement seeing his development into Olympic Champion in 1992 and his disqualified final in the Atlanta games in 1996. He could have been a TV personality and Team GB coach and have continued to be a loved and respected celebrity and he threw it all away. I don’t feel sorry for him, I still feel gutted and disappointed by him.
Who cares if he actually did it...I inject nandrolone weekly for joint pain and that doesn't make me a bad person or a cheater. I'm 68 years old and just trying to keep my mobility as I age.
To this day I can’t understand why an apology has not been given. a retired sprinter cheating? Why , what would be the point? They tested him again and he was negative. That alone should raise concern. It’s so easy to contaminate samples. He challenged and won. But another department wanted him to come and defend him self even after he was cleared . And they kept the original result. I never believed he cheated. The greatest track and field sprinter we’ve ever had and they destroyed him. They even banned him for two years but he’d retired from the sport. This gets me so angry. IAAF C**TS the lot of them
I'm not a sprinter, have never been an athlete and I knew what Nandrolone was at that time. In that era it was widely talked about in the media as a method of improving performance in sports especially sprinters. You would think that you'd find out the banned substances and make sure you didn't take them.
Already in 1988 Seoul Olympic games , 100 mt final where he was 3°, bronze medal , he tested positive for ephedrine (along with Ginseng).
Nandy can be detected by tests almost 2 years after last use. I think he meant he forgot about that not what nadrolone was.
Was so worried adout his reputation put wouldn't go see panel explain his case 🤔
Whenever someone mentioned Linford I always used to say drugs cheat, nandrolone. I feel like I’m pretty good at reading people. My BS meter wasn’t flickering during the documentary, Linford is an honest & decent man as far as I’m concerned. Laugh at that if you will, he’s even the most convincing liar or telling the truth
The golden rule. Don't get caught. Then bluff and deny. The arrogance.
He knows he cheated and we know he cheated, and the officials know he cheated, best he keeps his mouth shut and not dig a bigger hole. R.
The one thing I have not seen in the comments is that he also refused to be tested prior to this one, on the basis that he had retired. The British governing body did not bother to do anything, but should have given him a two year ban. Had they done so he would not have been able to run in this race and might still have his reputation intact. The CEO later admitted not banning him for the missed test was a mistake.
Nandrolone doesn't just disappear from your system within a matter of days, or even weeks. Yet Christie's second test showed there was no nandrolone in his system. Explain that.
After watching the documentary, it's very hard not to be on his side. I truly feel he was just very unlucky.
Half life 6 days, detection windows 18 months. Probably dose dependant.
A reason to take steroids after retiring, could be to increase recovery from stress and possibly nagging injuries, that made him retire? Possibly tainted supplements. Since the second test was negative, too much time between the first and second test had passed?
they never said when he did the 2nd test did they? Could have been weeks or months later
if everybody in the field is cheating, there's no advantage in cheating. you are forced to cheat just be on a level playing field.
It made no sense at that time to ban him . He was already retired from professional sports.
He threw a temper tantrum after being disqualified for false starting at the Atlanta Olympics.
You got caught that's what is eating him up. Be a man and admit it.
Not nandrolone decanoate which stays in your system weeks even months. But athletes started using nandrolone phenol propionate which is in and out of your system in a few days
Yes Champ! 🥊
Hero of mine when i was a kid, i didnt care that he was black,i didnt care about the press stupid lunchbox stuff.....he was fast and he was British and i loved hm for it. HERO
He was ripped off ! He’s a legend
No US athlete around that era was ever found to have taken drugs. Corrupt system
If he wasn’t taking drugs he did one hell of a job achieving a steroid body without steroids.
Not looking good if you only have your lawyer and Wife on your side.
Only someone who knows nothing of sports science, sports nutrition, specific resistance training, natural genetics and cardio/sprint training 6-days a week, until you also have only 5-7% body fat by competition time (as opposed to the average 18-24%); would make a ridiculous 'steroid body' comment like that.
@@MajikBoxx When about Ben? He was an expert in all that stuff too?
Nah! He’s a drug cheat!
They all use steroids!
💯
No they don’t
@@philellul3898they do bruh
Thank you
@@philellul3898😂😂😂
You don't just happen to have Nandrolone in your system🙄.
To black, too strong, your Jamaican and we love you first and foremost - I stopped watching after 3:12 - boring - you'll always be an inspiration to us all
Used to see him training in the shed at West London when doing Wednesday night open meetings. Also used to train with one of his ex-girlfriends. Everybody I knew that knew him where shocked when they heard the news. He was one of the most tested athletes during his career and to get a positive after retirement made no sense. Marlene Ottey also had a false positive around the same time which she got lifted.
Les fameux vices de procédures, encore une fois... Merci les avocats. La fête continue.
Kicking an athlete out of sport contention for life for a single offense is crazy. Appropriate discipline, yes. And anyone who thinks it's right has never had their lively hood based on reaching their physical peak.
How do these guys make serious accusations like this, then sit back and place the burden of proof on then accused? 'Come to Monaco and explain why our test was improperly handled and probably rigged'.... It's ridiculous!
Please do not associate Monaco or Monegasque people with such organisations. Just because they're based in Monaco, doesn't mean you are entitled to mention the Principality. Got it?
@@Venmaylove What part of my post associated the IAAF with the people of Monaco? You've completely missed the point, and your hostilities are misplaced. Please, engage someone else...
@@marksewe114 I think you can explain yourself infront a jury when you are not broken, but in his case he was clearly broken by the news and could not stand for himself. Sometimes it is beyond your strength.
“Didn’t know what Nandrolone was”… 😂😂
@@Evaso_CC 🤣🤣🤣 That statement alone proves he's a liar.
He looks really well
This man was dirty at the '92 Olympics when he won gold and they swept the test under the rug because the high-ups felt there was no way the sport could survive two scandals in a row in the men's 100 meters. Linford, like ALL the other great sprinters of this era, was a heavy doper. When they hell are they ALL going to come clean (pun intended) and just tell the truth about all of it? They're too afraid of getting stripped of their accolades and that is the only reason.
Linford is a legend and didn't deserve what he went through. However, after being cleared by the UK governing body, he should have continued to fight to clear his name with the IAAF. Instead, he chose to stop, seemingly refusing to attend the hearing, leading to the reinstatement of the charge and his subsequent ban, which has caused him suffering for the last 25 years. The mounting legal bills and emotional stress were a factor and took their toll at the time.
The risk / reward ratio just isn't worth doing PEDs. Once your reputation is tarnished, it's very difficult to come back from that.
Well if the risk is you get banned from a sport that you couldn't make money in if you didn't cheat and the reward is making a lot of money as a professional athlete, it's definitely worth it. Look at the long distance runners, grow up in poverty or take Epo and have a chance at a better life. It's an absolute no brainer
The way the media singles out these athletes is a joke. THEY ARE ALL DOPING, and the pressure is on to win. The media is so selfish sometimes.
Then they are all cheating
Nothing worse than when you discover that your hero is a cheat. I suspect there have been quite a few athletes over the years who have got away with it undetected like a certain MF. Oh and cycling where you mention you had asthma as a child and have to go halfway round the world for a remedy just in case on the off chance it comes back.
He didn’t know what “Nandrolone” was
YER WRIGHT of course you didn’t
He cheated. Period.
I'm a proud fan of Team GB ... but it's undeniable. He got caught a tthe end (largely because he couldn't bear to step away from the spotlight as he aged) ... but you check out his physical body shape over the years and there is absolutely no doubt that he was chemically enhanced.
If you still don't believe me, then ask yourself how he managed to improve as he aged AND (most revealing of all) keep up with Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and all the others from his era who were caught cheating.
Honest athlete taken to the cleaners. Shameful!!!
Mahershala Ali should play this guy in a film one day.
If you think he was natural your delusional.
Nandrolone is naturally occurring. Several athletes, Jaap Stam comes to mind, tested positive for what was considered to be elevated levels at the time but which was subsequently found to be within the bounds of natural levels in some people. That, combined with the ridiculous notion of a retired athlete taking a PED, leads to the conclusion that the case against Linford was BS!
Yes they all were including USA
It’s a difficult one. Christie was a huge star for me growing up. I know he was being goaded by the new sprinters of the time that he was past it and couldn’t win anymore. The logic that he might have felt it worth taking a little something in training to help teach these kids a lesson seemed plausible. As he says, it wasn’t like a title was on the line, it would just be helping an older guy get back to good form. But he seems pretty adamant about it. The only thing that does make me question is the claim he didn’t even know what nandrolone was, that seems unlikely. Also his refusal to go to the IOC to argue his case again seemed a bit strange. But you just don’t know. Maybe a coach unwittingly gave him something but these athletes are meticulous about what they ingest. It just remains unresolved to me.
Sometimes it is too much pressure on them.