Published : Aug. 26, 2012 - 09:39
In this July 24, 2004, file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong, right, of Austin, Texas, follows compatriot and teammate Floyd Landis, left, in the ascent of the La Croix Fry pass during the 17th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Bourg-d`Oisans and Le Grand Bornand, French Alps. (AP-Yonhap News)
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday it stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from cycling for life.
The decision, which was expected, came a day after Armstrong announced he would no longer fight USADA claims that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The USADA had said Thursday it would take away Armstrong's titles.
"Nobody wins when an athlete decides to cheat with dangerous performance-enhancing drugs, but clean athletes at every level expect those of us here on their behalf, to pursue the truth to ensure the win-at-all-cost culture does not permanently overtake fair, honest competition," USADA Chief Executive Officer Travis T. Tygart said.
"Any time we have overwhelming proof of doping, our mandate is to initiate the case through the process and see it to conclusion as was done in this case."
Earlier Friday, Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body of cycling, asked the USADA for a "reasoned decision explaining the action taken [against Armstrong]."
Armstrong said the USADA doesn't have the authority to take away his titles but Tygart told CBS that "given that he's chosen not to contest, it's a legal fact that he's now disqualified and has a permanent ban from sport competition."
In a lengthy statement on his Web site, Armstrong said the USADA had made "heinous" claims against him but that there was no point in fighting them in what he called an "unconstitutional" setting.
"I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999," Armstrong said in his statement. "Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation [which was closed without any action taken] followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation [for cancer research] and on me leads me to where I am today -- finished with this nonsense."
Armstrong had tried to have the USADA's actions dismissed by a federal judge but that bid was rejected.
"If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and -- once and for all -- put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance," Armstrong said. "But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair.
"Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?"
The USADA made its charge against Armstrong two months ago. It said blood samples from 2009 and 2010 were "fully consistent with blood manipulation."
"I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own eight-year limitation," Armstrong said. "As respected organizations such as UCI have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges.
"The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA's improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority." (UPI)
영웅 몰락...'인간승리'에서 '약물황제'로
도핑 의혹을 받고 있는 '전설의 사이클 황제' 랜스 암스트롱(40•미국)이 결국 투르드프랑스 7회 우승을 포함한 모든 수상 실적을 박탈당했다.
미국반도핑기구(USADA)가 암스트롱이 14년간의 선수 생활 동안 쌓은 모든 수상 기록을 삭제했다고 AP통신이 25일 보도했다.
암스트롱이 금지 약물을 복용했다고 결론지은 USADA는 암스트롱이 앞으로 사이클 경기에 출전하는 것은 물론 물론 사이클 코치 활동도 금지했다.
USADA는 미국내 도핑문제를 관장하는 기관으로 금지 약물을 복용한 선수에 대한 출장 정지와 함께 수상 실적 박탈권도 갖고 있다.
반면 국제사이클연맹(UCI)은 USADA로부터 왜 암스트롱의 수상 실적을 박탈했는지에 대한 충분한 설명을 듣고 난 뒤에 조처를 하겠다며 한발 물러섰다.
국제 사이클 대회를 주관하는 A.S.O.(The Amaury Sport Organization) 역시 UCI 와 USADA의 설명을 들을 때까지 입장을 밝히지 않겠다는 태도를 보였다.
암스트롱은 1996년 고환암을 진단받았으나 이를 극복하고 1999년부터 2005년까지 투르드프랑스 7회 연속 우승을 차지해 '인간 승리'라는 찬사를 받았다.
지난 2005년 은퇴했다 한 차례 복귀했던 그는 지난해 영구 은퇴를 선언했다.
암스트롱이 금지 약물을 복용했다는 의혹은 이미 수년 전부터 꼬리표처럼 따라다녔지만, 그는 그때마다 이를 강력하게 부인해왔다.
미국 검찰도 지난해 내사를 벌였지만, 확증을 잡지 못해 올해 초 기소 없이 조사를 종결했다.
그러자 USADA가 암스트롱과 그의 옛 동료 5명이 1990년대부터 시작된 체계적인 도핑 프로그램의 핵심에 있었다는 판단 하에 지난 6월 자체적으로 조사에 나섰다.
암스트롱은 이에 반발해 USADA가 자신의 권리를 침해하고 있다고 법원에 조사를 중단시켜 달라고 소송을 냈지만 기각당했다.
기각 판결이 나오자 암스트롱은 전날 도핑 혐의를 인정하지 못하지만 법정 공방에 지쳤다며 항소를 포기하겠다고 선언했다.
결국 USADA는 암스트롱이 10년 넘게 쌓아온 각종 우승컵과 상금을 박탈하고, 다시는 스포츠계로 돌아올 수 없게 했다.
암스트롱은 이날 트위터를 통해 "26일 콜로라도주 아스펜에서 산악자전거 레이스에 참여한 뒤 27일에는 마라톤을 할 예정"이라고 전했을 뿐 USADA의 결정에 대해서는 코멘트하지 않았다.
국제올림픽위원회(IOC)는 암스트롱의 2000년 시드니올림픽 동메달과 관련, USAD A와 UCI의 결정이 나올 때까지 어떠한 조치도 취하지 않겠다는 태도를 보였다.