Livestrong forever!

The first time I ever heard about Lance Armstrong was when my social studies teacher was telling the class about great people overcoming the biggest obstacles of life. She talked about greats like Stephen hawking, John Nash, Helen Keller and there was a fleeting mention of Lance Armstrong among the contemporaries.

Never had any sport witnessed such a heroic comeback. Here was a guy who was diagnosed with last stage cancer and given no hope of survival. For someone to overcome those painful and weakening chemo therapies and then comeback to win 7 Tour de France titles is huge.  Even having the will to comeback and compete as a professional cyclist after such a setback takes a huge effort and an undying spirit.

To many detractors Armstrong’s refusal to fight USADA anymore is an admission of guilt. To put things in perspective Armstrong has never failed a drug test in his life. Since USADA has no verifiable proof against Armstrong they got a bunch of his former teammates to testify against him. So suddenly their testaments have taken precedence over actual scientific proof which begs the question what’s the point of such drug trials if you are not going to stand by it?

Though it did surprise many Armstrong fans like me when he decided to throw in the towel because it is so uncharacteristic of him but when you take a moment and try to put yourself in his shoes maybe you will realize that this guy has spent all his life fighting , be it for life or as a professional cyclist conquering the toughest of the courses, and now when he wants to spend his life peacefully with his family and to serve the society (Livestrong has so far raised nearly $500 million) the USADA is hell bent on fighting it out with him. I feel it is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgement on Armstrong’s part that his legacy is not confined to his cycling titles but it goes much beyond that. He is an inspiration for millions of people around the world and shall continue to be so with or without his professional achievements.

I salute you Lance! Livestrong forever!

-a true fan

Link to Armstrong's clarification