IOC awaits return of Armstrong's Olympic medal
Nine months have passed since decision to strip him of the result and medal
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is still waiting to receive the returned Olympic medal of Lance Armstrong. The American rider, who admitted to doping during his career, was stripped of his Sydney 2000 Olympic bronze individual time trial medal nine months ago.
"We still do not have the medal back," IOC Vice President Thomas Bach said during meetings in Buenos Aires, according to Reuters. "We will continue to work with the United States Olympic Committee to get this medal back as requested in our decision."
Armstrong did not contest the decision, which the IOC made in January and then communicated to both Armstrong and the US Olympic Committee, but he also has not yet returned the medal.
The American was banned for life and stripped of all results from August 1, 1998 onwards in the wake of the US Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation into doping at his former US Postal Service team.
The IOC previously said that there will be no bronze medal winner in the 2000 Olympics time trial because it would not reallocate the medal to the fourth place finisher, Abraham Olano of Spain.
After the Armstrong scandal, there was worry that the IOC would drop cycling from its Summer Olympic Games programme as it looked to trim events for the 2020 event in Tokyo, but cycling was confirmed as a 'core sport' by the IOC during the meetings.
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