Lance Armstrong’s story is one of courage and perseverance. However, his legacy has been tarnished in light of the confirmation that he was on performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s). Armstrong averted allegations for years while he won seven straight Tour de France titles, a record that astounded fans of all sports. Armstrong was on the pedestal of greatness, now it seems as if he has fallen from the astronomically high spot he had in both the hearts and minds of fans everywhere. At one point, he was a hero to cancer survivors, now he won’t be so revered.
Armstrong will be remembered as a hero to some, and a liar to some. But, most people do not know all of the facts. Armstrong was a student at Plano East who graduated from Bending Oaks in Dallas. Much is still unknown about Armstrong’s time at Plano East, and Armstrong has almost never mentioned it. He tweeted that he was watching the game, but he didn’t say he was rooting for Plano East.
When Armstrong was 25, he found he had an advanced form of testicular cancer and it was spreading to his lungs and his brain. The doctors said that it was in Stage 3(very advanced) cancer. The spreading of the cancer was so terrible, that he needed brain surgery. Armstrong had the cancer successfully removed and he began to undergo chemotherapy, causing him to lose his hair.
Armstrong went on to win seven straight Tour de France titles, at the time, the greatest accomplishment in cycling history; the Tour is an annual cycling event that is like cycling’s Super Bowl. This accomplishment is unheralded in the world of sports. For Armstrong to win seven straight Tour de Frances would be like the Yankees winning seven straight World Series.
For six years, Armstrong stayed in the limelight by appearing on talk shows, ESPN, and morning shows. He created a Twitter account that almost 3.8 million people follow. He was engaged to country music superstar Sheryl Crow. The two broke off the engagement for unknown reasons but Lance stayed in the spotlight. Throughout all of this, he was still world renowned for his championships.
The Tour de France officials began to become suspicious and they started to investigate into Armstrong’s wins. The allegations grew as a French newspaper reported that the six urine tests Armstrong used, which each cyclist is required to take before the race begins, had been frozen and thawed. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) called for an independent investigation to find out the reason for this. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) concluded a recent investigation and found Lance Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs. When Armstrong heard this, he pleaded no contest to the charges. The USADA and the ICU(International Cycling Union) stripped Armstrong of his Tour de France titles. The ICU announced that nobody would be credited with a victory from 1998 to 2005.
