I watched the Oprah Winfrey interview with cyclist Lance Armstrong that streamed online. That interview will cross over two nights on the OWN network. - Part one was Thursday night Jan. 17, 2013 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. - Part two will be Friday Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. - Armstrong has been stripped of his 7 ‘Tour De France’ titles & was banned from professional competition for life. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also stripped him of his Bronze medal from the 2000 ‘Sydney’ Olympic Games. Up until this interview Lance has denied using steroids for more than a decade. He finally admitted using many different kinds of steroids to boost his performance in major cycling competitions.
I became a big fan of Lance Armstrong after reading his published 2000 autobiography “It’s Not About The Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” - His was an inspiring story because of winning the fight against cancer. I enjoyed his love of the sport of cycling with all the ups, downs, winning & losing. I was glad for him when he won that first ‘Tour De France’ title after becoming cancer free. - Lance Armstrong was a great American story filled with one gigantic miracle. With all that said - I ignored the news reports on everything from the denials, the investigative reports, to his former teammates confessing their own steroid use. I needed to hear the truth come straight from his own mouth.
Lance Armstrong is another disappointment of an athlete who wanted that edge over the competition through steroids. I always believed that even if he didn’t win that first ‘Tour De France’ title. It would be okay because he survived cancer & that in itself was a test of endurance. I also believed that his natural athletic talent was enough - but with the help of so many different steroids it made him a machine who dominated the competition. What is incredible is that Armstrong was never tested positive & I guess that is the lesson here. The testing of steroids has to be stepped up to catch those so-called ‘Cheaters.’
I read the book ‘Game of Shadows’(2006) that was written by Lance Williams & Mark Fainaru-Wada. It covered the ‘BALCO ’ scandal involving Victor Conti who invented designer steroids for several professional athletes from baseball, football to track & field. That scandal brought in a grand jury where those athletes lied to protect their supposed steroid use. That included track & field sprinter Marion Jones. I am a huge fan of ‘Olympic Sports’ where every four years athletes test positive for banned steroids. Again - I waited to hear the truth from Marion Jones herself who was stripped of her 5 medals from the 2000 ‘Sydney’ Olympic Games. All of her records were wiped from the books back to 1999.
Victor Conti said something interesting after everything he did became public. He stated that another designer steroid will be invented by someone - after him - because whoever they are will want that edge over the competition.
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