Last updated on: 8/27/2012 | Author: ProCon.org

Lance Armstrong Biography

Title:
Former professional cyclist and seven-time winner of the Tour de France
Position:
Con to the question "Should Performance-Enhancing Drugs Be Accepted in Sports?"
Reasoning:

“I would never beat my wife, and I never took performance-enhancing drugs.”

Transcript from arbitration hearing in the case Lance Armstrong vs. SCA Promotions, Inc., quoted in “Allegations Trail Armstrong Into Another Stage,” Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2006

[Editor’s Note: On Jan. 17, 2013, Lance Armstrong in an interview with Oprah Winfrey officially admitted to having used performance enhancing drugs starting from the mid-1990s through his final Tour de France win in 2005.]

Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Professional cyclist, 1991-2005 and 2009-2011
  • Named among 100 Most Influential People, TIME magazine, 2008
  • Recipient, Best Male Athlete, ESPY Awards, 2003-2006
  • Recipient, Male Athlete of the Year, Associated Press, 2002-2005
  • Seven-time winner, Tour de France, 1999-2005 (titles stripped by USADA on Aug. 23, 2012)
  • Recipient, Sportsman of the Year, Sports Illustrated, 2002
  • Appointed to President’s Cancer Panel by President George W. Bush, 2002
  • Founder, Lance Armstrong Foundation, 1997
Education:
  • None found
Other:
  • Survived testicular cancer
  • On Feb. 3, 2012, federal prosecutors ended their two-year investigation into allegations that Armstrong had used performance enhancing drugs.
  • On Aug. 23, 2012, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stripped Armstrong of every title he won since 1998 (including all seven Tour de France titles) and banned him from competing in elite-level sports for the rest of his life.
  • Sponsors:
  • American Century Investments
  • ACI LIVESTRONG Portfolios
  • Nike
  • Nike LIVESTRONG Collection
  • Trek
  • Oakley
  • 24 Hour Fitness
  • Giro
  • FRS