R O M E , July 12, 2000 -- Banned Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson raced again today. But the prize was not a medal — it was his wallet.

Police said Johnson, 38, had been robbed by a group of Gypsy children who distracted his attention as he was walking down Rome’s elegant Via Veneto at around 10:45 a.m. local time.

The former 100-meter world record holder sprinted after the thieves, who managed to snatch his wallet by distracting him.

He caught one of them but a few of the children managed to do what many professional athletes could only dream of in Johnson’s heyday — outsprint him.

$5,000 Prize Johnson called the police to report the theft, and state television RAI said the wallet the children made off with contained $4,900.

Johnson was stripped of his 1988 Seoul Olympic gold medal after testing positive for steroids. He recently won a lucrative three-month contract to provide fitness training to the soccer-playing son of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.