Lance Armstrong, the name which used to be an inspiration just a few years ago, is now a subject of disgrace. Getting caught in the doping saga has brought Armstrong’s life into a downward spiral.
The greatest road cyclist ever and a cancer survivor, someone who would easily make the list of great sportspersons of all time, is now labelled a cheat by the world.
After denying all allegations of doping his entire career, they were proved against Armstrong in an 1100-page report by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA).
He further refused to accept the report but finally gave in and confessed to have doped in the talk show hosted by Oprah Winfrey. Thus, he was stripped of all his victories and was banned for life as a consequence of his involvement in doping being proved.
Lance Armstrong was very much at the centre of the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping sagas the world has ever seen, and the evidence against him was overwhelming, but should that go on to degrade his image of a winner, of a champion?
Road cycling is obnoxiously taxing on the human body. To merely compete in the sport, a level of extreme physical fitness is required.
The most desired competition in the world of cycling is the Tour de France. Winning that is the pinnacle of a cyclist’s career. The tour extends to a 23-day period in which the participants cover 3200 kilometres across the whole of France.
This simple one line description of the Tour de France very easily indicates the amount of physical exertions a cyclist has to go through to compete in this let alone winning it.
Lance Armstrong was a seven-time winner of the prestigious Tour de France. Yes, he did dope in the course of winning it but so did the others.
This point is very often neglected by the masses. Everyone focuses on blaming Armstrong for the wrongs he did but what about the others?
The USADA report which proved the doping against Armstrong was compiled with the assistance of 11 former cyclists, including former teammates of Armstrong. These cyclists not only unfolded Armstrongs role in doping, but also accepted that they had been involved in doping.
This proves that the whole world of cycling was in a vicious circle of doping. The testimonies of these people proved beyond doubt that if not all then a large majority of the cycling world was using performance enhancing drugs.
In my opinion, the use of banned substances did not give Armstrong any undue advantage over the others but it only brought him to a level playing field. He did what he had to do to be on the same physical level as that of the others and give him the same shot at winning what a cyclist desires the most.
Keeping the above fact in mind, all those victories of which he has been stripped would not look small. He was the best performing wrongdoer in a world of wrongdoers.
Thus, his achievements can never be undermined knowing that his condition was same as that of all others. People have termed his victories as an act of cheating. They believe that he was a cut above the others since he doped, but that is not the case.
He did dope, but he was on a level playing field, and that is what matters. None of his fellow competitors was inferior to him on any count. He won all those titles because he had the mental strength in him to compete and win.
Furthermore, how can we forget what an inspiration he was to people as a cancer survivor. Fighting the disease is in itself a commendable job, but Armstrong was way more than that. He fought cancer, started racing again and succeeded immensely.
A cancer survivor winning one of the world’s most physically demanding competition is an achievement worthy of extreme appreciation and a great means of inspiration.
By no means am I in any way justifying Lance Armstrong’s involvement in the doping. He was wrong in doing so and should have been punished.
I am voicing the notion that despite the doping saga, it is not wrong to still consider Armstrong as a great champion.
He was just another who doped in a world which was filled with such athletes. He was on level playing field and did what he had to do to win.
After all, he is a mere human too. His achievements after his rise from cancer are furthermore worthy of respect. To me, he is still an inspiration. To me, he is still a champion.