Although Armstrong persistently denied allegations of doping, even stating he was the most tested athlete in the world and suing accusers of libel, he finally admitted to doping in a television interview conducted by Oprah Winfrey in 2012. Armstrong was a child athlete, an Iron Kids Triathlon winner at the young age of 13 as well as national triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. Winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times was no easy feat, he was a champion, a legend. Sponsors such as Nike, RadioShack, Anheuser-Busch and Oakley believed in him and made him wealthy. He faced many critics throughout his victory years, and continuously denied every allegation of cheating by doping.
Lance Armstrong: Legend or Lowlife From legend to lowlife, and from an athlete who inspired millions to nothing but a sham. Lance Armstrong was arguably the best and most inspiring cyclist of all time however alleged drug use has destroyed his career. A winner of seven straight “Tour de Frances” and a fundamental part to the “Lance Armstrong foundation” now has nothing left when it comes to cycling. His 7 titles have been stripped of him by the International Cycling Union and he has given up the fight against the U.S. Anti Doping Agency who claims that he allegedly was an active user of illegal substances. This has lead to rumors and various sponsors of his; such as Nike, Anheuser-Busch, and Trek Bicycle Corp. to drop him as an endorser of their products.
Immediately after the USADA announced that they would strip armstrong of his seven tour de france and the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and was banned from cycling for life. In a television interview in January 2013, Armstrong admitted he had been involved in doping during his cycling career. This shook the cycling community and the sports community because for years he was viewed as the best cyclist and everyone looked up to him. Since his doping scandal Lance has moved on and is taking time for
The Ethical Dilemma of Oscar Pistorius “You can succeed at anything if you put your mind to it.” This statement seems to be one that we hear endlessly as we grow older. Sometimes this is proven true, as could be perceived from the case of Oscar Pistorius. Oscar is an Olympic sprinter, with one big difference from his competition-both of his legs are non-existent below the knee. Instead of legs, he uses a folded metal spring mechanism that acts in the same way as a human calf and foot. Pistorius was born with a congenital disease that caused him to have both of his legs amputated just below his knees when he was less than a year old.
JIM CASSIDY: He was just a remarkable athlete. His will to win and determination to fight off other horses and the attack that he just put...through your own body riding him, the vibe and the feel was just something very special, something you don't get off other horses. PHILIPPA MCDONALD: Might and Power became the name on everyone's lips when he was the horse to lead all the way and win both the Caulfield Cup's and the Melbourne Cup in 1997. MAX PRESNELL: There are about two horses in the history of the Melbourne Cup that have led all the way and won. Might and Power did, the other two didn't do it with the weight that Might and Power did.
Cobain actually detested hitting the Billboard charts, however, after his death in 1994, Nirvana become a worldwide rock legend who became commercialized to fit the mainstream (Erlewine). One year after the band was formed, they released their first single “Love Buzz” which did not get that much attention (Erlewine). A year later, their first album “Bleach” was released (Erlewine). Even though neither one of these hit the billboard 200 nor “attracted” any major label companies, Nirvana was satisfied with what they had accomplished; they had become very popular among college students and the British weekly press by selling 35,000 copies of their unique, indie style music (Erlewine). With a small following, Nirvana took the world by storm with their second album “Nevermind” at the end of 1989 with several hits (Erlewine).
There is the emotion of heroism. My father loved Joe Louis and Jesse Owens, and he wasn't alone. They were icons of an era. After Louis defeated Primo Carnera in 1935, a writer for The Los Angeles Times gushed: ''The colored race couldn't have chosen two more remarkable men than Jesse Owens and Joe Louis to be its outstanding representatives. Owens is being hailed as the greatest track and field athlete of all time, same thing goes for 'Dead Pan' Joe Louis, whose decisive defeat of Carnera has sent the scribes scurrying to the dictionaries seeking superlatives of greater scope than any they've used before.''
Nicholas Leong Drugs in Sports: A Case Study Ben Johnson Research a high profile drugs in sport case and provide a (half page maximum) brief summary of the case. The Jamaican-born Johnson had blown away American rival Carl Lewis in the 100-meter final at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, using an amazingly powerful start to post a time of 9.79 seconds, besting his own world record by .04 seconds, and was being hailed in Canada as a conquering hero after winning the most highly anticipated race in track-and-field history. Two days later, it all came crashing down on Johnson and became the most stunning moment in Olympic history, at least in my lifetime. Johnson had tested positive for a banned steroid and the International Olympic Committee stripped Johnson of his gold medal and awarded it to Lewis, who had finished second in an American-record 9.92 seconds. What was the major drug involved and why was on the banned list for this sport.
The only thing that matters to Armstrong is victory and he would do whatever to protect his self-image. However, some think his victories were just too unbelievable; his winnings were in fact due to cheating. In the interview Armstrong confessed to Oprah that all of his Tour wins were, in part, due to the use of performance boosting drugs. The story of an American hero, who had conquered cancer then crushed his competition, now lay tattered and torn. I agree with Joseph Burgo when he wants the readers to try to understand why Lance Armstrong acts the way he does.
What he does instead, is to take this bad experience to push himself to become stronger. His determination facilitates him to be the only person to win seven times the Tour of France. He becomes the idol of many people because he exhibited what determination can reach, and those obstacles that seem insurmountable are achievable if we want.