Disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson still believes he has a place among the greats

Thirty-six years after he was stripped of an Olympic gold medal, former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson still believes he has a place among the greats.

"In my mind and many [people's minds] who supported Ben Johnson over the years … I'm the best 100-metre sprinter, and so be it," he told The Current's Matt Galloway.

Johnson should have been on top of the world when he won gold in the 100-metre sprint at the 1988 Summer Olympics, setting a record time of 9.79 seconds.

But just three days after the race, Park Jong-sei of the Olympic Doping Control Center found that Johnson's urine sample contained the anabolic steroid stanozolol. It's a drug that gives users increased strength and allows them to recover faster from exercise.

Johnson was disqualified, had his gold medal stripped away and his record time erased from history.

"My mom's always said to me over the years that the only way they can beat you is in a lab," he said.

Johnson has admitted to using anabolic steroids, though not stanozolol. His steroid scandal is being revisited in a new book, World's Fastest Man*: The Incredible Life of Ben Johnson, by Canadian sports journalist Mary Ormsby.

Ormsby, who covered the 100m race on Sept. 24, 1988, in Seoul, South Korea, for the Toronto Star, said she was shocked when her editor informed her of a wire story a few days later about Johnson testing positive.

"Until that point, for several years, there weren't a lot of people being caught [for doping] on the world stage," she told Galloway. "Certainly not at a high level, not famous athletes like Ben Johnson."

Johnson was a national hero after he crossed the finish line in the 100m race. Brian Mulroney, Canada's prime minister at the time, congratulated Johnson over the phone