Would Ben Johnson Have Been the Greatest Sprinter Ever Without Steroids?
 

I think he could have. Steroids can definitely help but it's not like they will make you go faster without putting in any effort. You still need to train and run. When you look at his speed and his explosive start out of the blocks I think he would have eventually been as great without steroids as he was with it.

Nope, don't think Ben Johnson could have done it without doping. He always had a strong start/good reaction, but Carl Lewis, on the other hand, was more a "complete" sprinter. Lewis had decent starts but more importantly he had the power and endurance to catch and pass Ben Johnson to win a race. That was, until Ben Johnson started doping. In the video you've posted, Johnson had already been doping for a few years (started doping sometime after 1984 Olympics where he got a bronze medal, behind Lewis' gold).

Well it depends, do the other runners still get to use steroids? If he's the only one who can't, then no.

pretty sure everyone gears not just him

They didn't call the 1988 Seoul Olympic 100m Mens Finals "The Dirty Race In History" for nothing: of the eight sprinters, six has either tested positive for banded substance or have been involve in supplying/distributing them.

Carl was on the juice too. Lewis: 'Who cares I failed drug test?' | Sport | The Guardian

They all were/are

I remember that day clearly. That was huge for Canada. Then massive shame was felt when he was caught cheating. What a let down.

Knowing now that it's highly likely that every single runner in that race was on PHDs, it's almost more of a shame that he was singled out and embarrassed in front of the world when he was on a seemingly level playing field.

Your thread title is a rhetorical question. Why did he use steroids then? For certainty and confidence?