Lance Armstrong at the 2008 Tour de Gruene Individual Time Trial

Last month Lance Armstrong gave up the fight to prove himself a “clean” athlete, and accepted a lifetime ban from the United States Anti-Doping Agency. They have also recommended that he be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

I was furious when this witch hunt started. A few minutes with Google turned up the fact that all the medications he was being accused of using to enhance his performance, are used in treating testicular cancer. Everything. All they accomplished was to treat his cancer symptoms to allow him to compete on a level playing field. They helped to save his life… and the USADA in its infinite wisdom refused to look beyond its narrow interpretation of “doping”, and chose to try to destroy the achievements of this man’s lifetime.

Now the ban has cost him a spot on the running team that his Livestrong Foundation is fielding for the Chicago Marathon, to raise money for cancer research. When told he was running, the race organizers informed his Foundation that he is banned from running. The Foundation released that news on Friday. The Foundation has always stood behind Armstrong and denied the doping allegations.

What we imagine

“When he chose not to contest in a public hearing the overwhelming evidence of his cheating Mr. Armstrong was well aware that he was accepting ineligibility from world-class athletic events like the Chicago Marathon,” a USADA spokeswoman said in a statement. “This is what the world rules require for all sanctioned athletes, high profile or not.”

A marathon spokeswoman said the race follows rules that prohibit banned athletes from entering races sanctioned by USA Track & Field.

What a clusterfuck.

Related articles

• Lance barred from running Chicago marathon (espn.go.com)
• Armstrong banned from Chicago Marathon (iol.co.za)
• Chicago Marathon: Lance Armstrong Can’t Race (newser.com)