Tag Archive | "lance armstrong"

Lance Armstrong Was Fired Today, Several Times Over!

Lance Armstrong Was Fired Today, Several Times Over!

Lance Armstrong had a very bad day. He was given the pink slip nearly half a dozen times TODAY!

The day started with news that Armstrong was stepping down as the chairman of Livestrong, the charity he created in the wake of his cancer survival and Tour de France success, to raise money to fight cancer.

“This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart,” the cancer survivor said in a statement. “Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.”

The Livestrong news came as a package deal with the major announcement from Nike that they were terminating their endorsement contract with Armstrong

“Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him,” the company said in a statement. “Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in any manner. Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer.”

After that the endorsement dominoes fell one after another starting with Anheuser-Busch announcing they wouldn’t renew their deal with Armstrong.

“We will not renew our relationship with Lance Armstrong when current contract expires”

This was followed by Trek, Giro Helmets, Honey Stinger, and 24 Hour Fitness all announcing they were severing ties with the troubled cyclist.

The sponsors are all jumping ship in wake of the insurmountable pile of evidence that Armstrong doped and cheating in winning his seven Tour de France championships.

 

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Christopher Hesch – Runner – Los Angeles

Elite Runner Christian Hesch Admits to EPO Doping

Elite road-runner Christian Hesch has admitted to EPO blood doping after being confronted by several of his Nike Team Run L.A. teammates who found an empty vial in his stuff.

Hesch, a self-described “profligate road racer,” said that over two years, beginning in August 2010, he injected himself with EPO 54 times before an empty EPO vial was found in his bag and he was reported to antidoping officials. In that time, he won nearly $40,000 in prize money in more than 75 races, including international competitions, United States championships and local road races.

Hesch, 33, gained national fame earlier this year when he out ran Ethiopia’s Fikadu Lemma and Demesse Tefera at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Half Marathon to win with a time of 1:07:05.

Two days prior Hesch had run a 4:00.01 mile at the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The USADA has a case pending against Hesch and has ordered that he not race until they decide how to punish him. (USADA has been a bit busy with it’s loaded case against cyclist Lance Armstrong over the past few weeks).

“It would be fairly expensive if I wanted to fight it,” Hesch said. “Usada only brings cases when they’re pretty sure, and this is coming from a guy with a pending case.”

Hesch could face a 2-year ban from the USADA.

Competitor’s Mario Fraioli felt miffed and misled by Hesch giving his story to the New York Times when he had been working with Hesch for days about an exclusive for Competitor Magazine (full story).

Fraioli ran the piece (see below) last night after getting word that the NYT was about to publish it’s exclusive piece on Hesch.

Hesch’s public apology piece that Fraioli had been waiting on, and was published last night, titled ‘Christian Hesch Publicly Apologizes for Doping‘ can be read HERE.

“I will promise you that when I return to racing if you yell “doper” or “you suck” at me as I pass by, I will not flip you the bird, nor will I throw a sarcastic thumbs-up. I might wave though, and I’ll be happy to hear you out after the race, no matter how rough the content. As Tyler Hamilton said so well, “I’m an ex-doper, and I don’t suck.” I hope you’ll feel the same way about me after sharing a word, a race, or a beer with me. I look forward to seeing you all on the roads, next year.”

What are your thoughts on Hesch’s confession?  Do you really think he’s sincere in his apology or just sorry he got caught?  Have you ever suspected one of your racing peers was doping?

Christian Hesch’s Running Results on ATHLinks

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BANNED IN THE USA: Chicago Marathon Denies Lance Armstrong’s Entry

BANNED IN THE USA: Chicago Marathon Denies Lance Armstrong’s Entry

The Chicago Marathon has denied a request from 7-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to run there in October.

The decision comes after a USADA ruling that stated Armstrong was guilty of using performance enhancing drugs for the past decade.

The USADA has stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France championships and banned him from all sports according to Runner’s World.

The road running community has been waiting to see if USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, would enforce the ban on Armstrong. As a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency code, USATF is bound to enforce rulings by WADA and USADA.

The ban in other sports such as road running and triathlon has not been popular.

“It seems a little over the top to pursue him beyond the cycling arena to me,” said John Conley, whose company owns and operates the Livestrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon.

Do you agree with the decision of the Chicago Marathon to keep Lance Armstrong out of their race?

Do you believe Armstrong used blood doping or performance enhancing drugs during the marathons he’s run over the past few years?

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Tim Dockery – Lance Armstrong Tweet – Run It Fast – The Club

Is the USADA’s Travis Tygart Out to Get Lance Armstrong?

I was innocently scrolling my Twitter feed moments ago when I saw a Tweet from Lance Armstrong mentioning Run It Fast Club Member Tim Dockery (RIF #42) nailing it.

So I went to Tim’s Facebook page and saw that it was indeed longtime friend and RIF member of the same name, Tim Dockery.

The post on Opposing Views is titled, ‘USADA’s Travis Tygart Plays Prosecutor, Jury and Judge in Lance Armstrong Case‘ (FULL STORY)

The title of the article doesn’t hide much but here is a couple of excerpts from the well written piece.

Imagine walking into a courtroom as the defendant in a lawsuit. The prosecuting attorney reads the charges against you citing nothing more than the testimony of anonymous witnesses as evidence. You object, claiming this is unjust! To your surprise the prosecutor walks to the judge’s bench, puts on a judge’s robe and denies your motion. The prosecutor, still wearing his judge’s robe, then takes out his cell phone and calls three of his friends to serve on your “independent” jury.

No, despite the officially sounding name, it turns out the “United States Anti-doping Agency is not a part of the federal government. Although it receives almost 90 percent of its funding from the federal grants, the USADA is a government program masquerading as a non-profit organization. This non-profit status allows it to investigate and prosecute athletes without affording them the constitutional and due process protections required of other federal agencies. This status also allows it to prosecute athletes with a lower burden of proof than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that would have been required in the previous investigation by the USDOJ. Finally, it allows a situation where the same man, Mr. Travis T. Tygart is allowed to serve as Prosecutor, Jury and Judge in the investigation of Lance Armstrong.

Dockery in concluding:

Do I think Mr. Tygart has some kind of personal vendetta against Lance? My personal opinion is yes, but I also think actions sometime speak louder than words. The 2012 London Olympic Games are a little more than a month away. Mr. Tygart and his staff are responsible for testing all US athletes headed to the games. However, he has chosen to use the majority of his offices resources investigating whether a retired cyclist doped 16 years ago.

The investigation and sanctioning process at the USADA is unconscionable. The partiality of the prosecutor, the lack of due process for the accused, and the lack of an independent fact finder are completely at odds with our American system of justice and fairness.

Take the time to read Tim’s full analysis of Tygart’s actions against Armstrong.

(Read Dockery’s full story HERE).

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Lance Armstrong Finish Line Photo Panama Half Ironman

Lance Armstrong Finishes 2nd in Panama Half Ironman (Results)

7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished second on Sunday in the Panama Half Ironman to New Zealand’s Bevan Docherty.

Docherty won with a time of 3:50:13 holding off Armstrong by 42 seconds as Lance finished in 3:50:55.

Men’s Race – Top 10 Finish

1 3:50:13 16 Bevan Docherty Santa Cruz CA NZL
2 3:50:55 0:42 24 Lance Armstron Austin TX USA
3 3:52:59 2:46 5 Richie Cunningh Boulder CO AUS
4 3:53:38 3:25 4 Rasmus Henning Tuineje DOM
5 3:54:44 4:31 12 Romain Guillaum Montmorot FRA
6 3:55:30 5:18 7 Jesse Thomas Springfield OR USA
7 3:56:21 6:09 1 Chris Lieto Danville CA USA
8 3:58:32 8:19 23 Ivan Vasilyev Moscow RUS
9 4:00:53 10:40 9 Oscar Galindez Santos ARG
10 4:01:24 11:11 6 Bert Jammaer Boom BEL

Docherty, who overtook Armstrong in the latter portion of the run, claims Armstrong ignored him somewhat after finishing.

“I’m not sure what it was all about. I can only assume he was just disappointed to get beaten,” Docherty said.

Docherty said that later on that Armstrong did finally shake his hand and congratulate him.

“I did shake his hand a little bit later. He’s on a completely different level and planet to us guys [triathletes],” Docherty said. “It’s great to have him in the sport, he certainly adds something. It’s an eye-opener to see how he gets mobbed and the chaos around him.”

Which of the three legs did Armstrong struggle the most? You’ll never guess it…

Docherty stated, “I thought Lance would absolutely cream us on the bike, but he was probably in a similar position to me where he wasn’t too sure how to pace himself,” he said. “He certainly looked like he was holding back and that was probably why he ran so well off the bike.”

Either way, Armstrong was impressive on Sunday and perhaps the greatest endurance athlete of our generation or any generation.

Armstrong will keep working at it until he can dominate the triathlon and Ironman.

Post Half Ironman Interview with Lance:

Women’s Race – Top 10

1 4:15:31 40 Angela Naeth Prince George BC CAN
2 4:19:11 3:40 36 Kelly Williams Austin TX USA
3 4:19:34 4:03 52 Margaret Shapiro Herndon VA USA
4 4:21:42 6:11 35 Leanda Cave Tucson AZ GBR
5 4:25:29 9:58 44 Tine Deckers Kessel – Lo BEL
6 4:29:00 13:29 37 Yvonne Van Vler Schwarzach NLD
7 4:29:17 13:46 39 Natascha Badmann Oftringen CHE
8 4:30:20 14:49 49 Michelle Vesterby Odense DNK
9 4:31:09 15:38 48 Bree Wee Kailua-Kona HI USA
10 4:33:03 17:32 43 Dede Griesbauer Boston MA USA

[images: Ironman Live]

Posted in Celebrities, Results, TriathlonComments (1)

Lance Armstrong Plano East Cross Country Running Photo

Lance Armstrong the High School Cross Country Champ

Here is a photo of a young Lance Armstrong in high school at Plano East High School during a cross country meet.

Armstrong has run three marathons (NY twice, Boston once) during his first retirement from cycling.  His marathon PR is 2:46:43.  He has also competed in several triathlons as well during his athletic career.

I am not sure if Lance was a high school cross country champ but with his drive and genetic disposition it’s a pretty safe assumption.

And on yeah, this young lad, in the photo above, has won cycling’s prestigious Tour de France seven times.

Posted in 5K, RunningComments (1)



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