Armstrong’s 2000 bronze medal under investigation by International Olympic Committee
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Then-Texas governor George W. Bush is presented with a yellow jersey by Lance Armstrong in 1999(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Lance Armstrong (United States) on the podium for the time trial at the Sydney Olympics(Image credit: AFP)
Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lance Armstrong (United States) at the 2000 Olympic Games(Image credit: AFP)
Lance Armstrong will wave goodbye to his 7 Tour titles(Image credit: AFP Photo)
UCI president Hein Verbruggen with Lance Armstrong in 2002(Image credit: AFP Photo)
An executive board member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has told the insidethegames.biz website that Lance Armstrong’s credibility has disappeared regardless of the whatever final decision is reached in the investigation by the IOC into the Texan’s bronze medal from the time trial even in the 2000 Olympic Games.
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president René Fasel told the insidethegames site that “regardless of whether you take his medal, his credibility is lost.”
“This is almost administrative and the taste will remain bitter no whatever happens.”
“With this Armstrong issue....it is not a huge feeling of victory, but just very sad.”
"I only hope it will be a lesson to athletes that if they cheat, a day will eventually come where they will be caught.”
Fasel’s Federation has always taken the fight against doping very seriously. According to figures on its website, the International Ice-Hockey Federation carried out 6,065 out-of-competition anti-doping tests in 2009. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, cycling carried out slightly more than half that number of out-of-competition blood tests - 3,314 - in 2011 whilst the international tennis federation, according to its website, carried out just 21.
“We should not need to [have a] witch hunt with athletes when it comes to doping, but rather educate them and their coaches and entourages about the importance of not doping,” Fasel added in the interview with insidethegames.biz.
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Within the context of the anti-doping struggle, Fasel went on to criticise the 2013 Tour de France route, which tackles the Alpe D’Huez twice next year, saying “that is a huge question mark for me.”
“Maybe it is good for the fans, but if you put athletes in a situation where they have no choice but to take illegal substances just to compete, that is wrong.”
Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
