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Armstrong Scraps Plans to Enter Swimming Competition Disappointed Armstrong Stopped From Competing in Swimming
(about 9 hours later)
Lance Armstrong, who is serving a lifetime ban from Olympic sports because of serious doping violations, planned to return to athletic competition this week at a masters swimming event that does not test its athletes for drugs. But after learning of Armstrong’s entry, the International Swimming Federation on Thursday put a stop to his plans.Lance Armstrong, who is serving a lifetime ban from Olympic sports because of serious doping violations, planned to return to athletic competition this week at a masters swimming event that does not test its athletes for drugs. But after learning of Armstrong’s entry, the International Swimming Federation on Thursday put a stop to his plans.
Armstrong, who in January confessed to doping for each of his record seven Tour de France victories, was barred from this weekend’s event and future events sanctioned by U.S. Masters Swimming because that organization is overseen by swimming’s international federation, which adheres to World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules. Armstrong, 41, received his ban and was stripped of his Tour titles under those rules. Armstrong, who in January confessed to doping for each of his record seven Tour de France victories, was barred from this weekend’s event and future events sanctioned by U.S. Masters Swimming because that organization is overseen by swimming’s international federation, which adheres to World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Armstrong, 41, received his lifetime ban and was stripped of his Tour titles under those rules.
Armstrong, who came clean about his doping partly in an effort reduce his lifetime ban because he so badly wants to compete again, did not respond to a text message seeking comment. Armstrong, who came clean about his doping partly in an effort to reduce his doping penalty because he wants to compete again, said Thursday that he was “extremely disappointed” that he could not compete in the meet. He said he has been training with masters teams all over the country for the past several years, and no one ever complained about it.
Rob Butcher, the executive director of U.S. Masters Swimming, said he contacted Armstrong’s agent Thursday to tell him that Armstrong could not compete. Armstrong then withdrew from the competition. “I was told all along that I was more than welcome to compete in masters meets by U.S.M.S.,” he said of U.S. Masters Swimming. “Then all of a sudden, I’m not welcome? I don’t get it.”
“They said, listen, we don’t want to create a P.R. nightmare for you guys, Lance just thought it would be fun to swim with the teammates he has been training with down there in Austin, in his own backyard,” Butcher said. Rob Butcher, the executive director of U.S. Masters Swimming, said he contacted United States Aquatic Sports — the umbrella organization over U.S. Masters Swimming — as soon as he learned Wednesday that Armstrong was competing to determine Armstrong’s eligibility. But Jim Wood, president of United States Aquatic Sports, said it was he who contacted Butcher about the potential problem.
As soon as Armstrong’s entry into the event — Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships — was made public Wednesday, officials from the United States Anti-Doping Agency reached out to USA Swimming to make sure Armstrong’s lifetime ban was upheld. USA Swimming then contacted United States Aquatic Sports, which oversees U.S. Masters Swimming. Eventually, the International Swimming Federation, the international governing body for aquatic sports, was made aware of the situation. Wood said he had been contacted Wednesday by USA Swimming, which had been notified of Armstrong’s entry in the meet by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The antidoping agency wanted to make sure that Armstrong’s lifetime ban would be upheld. Wood then reached out to the International Swimming Federation to determine how to proceed.
On Thursday, officials from the International Swimming Federation met to discuss the issue and decided that Armstrong should be barred from this weekend’s swimming event and all future U.S. Masters Swimming events. “There was some confusion there on Rob’s part, but we straightened everything out by this morning,” Wood said.
Armstrong, who has competed as a swimmer since he was child, had planned to compete in the three longest events of the meet, the 500-, 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyles. He was among the top seeds in his events and would have competed in the 40-44 age category. On Thursday, officials from the International Swimming Federation ruled that Armstrong should be barred from this weekend’s event and all future U.S. Masters Swimming events.
Butcher said Armstrong has been a member of U.S. Masters Swimming for several years and is still eligible to practice with his Western Hills Athletic Club team in Austin. But there will be no official races for Armstrong, and some masters swimmers welcome that. Butcher said he notified Armstrong’s agent that Armstrong could not compete. Armstrong then withdrew from the event.
Armstrong’s participation in this weekend’s meet drew an angry reaction. Butcher said he received several e-mails from people complaining about Armstrong, arguing against his being allowed to compete. Readers who commented on an article in The Austin American-Statesman about Armstrong’s competitive comeback also expressed ire. “They said, listen, we don’t want to create a P.R. nightmare for you guys; Lance just thought it would be fun to swim with the teammates he has been training with down there in Austin, in his own backyard,” Butcher said.
“Hey, Lance, no matter what you do, you will always be a liar and a dishonest cheat with no character,” said someone going by the name LcplDevildog. “They should not allow him to dirty another sport.” Armstrong’s entry in the event — the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships — was made public Wednesday, when the starting lists were posted online. Armstrong, who has competed as a swimmer since he was child, had planned to swim in the three distance events and was among the top seeds in those events. He would have competed in the 40-44 age category.
After more than a decade of lying about his performance-enhancing drug use, Armstrong came clean and admitted using banned drugs like EPO and testosterone. He also confessed to using banned blood transfusions to gain an edge in endurance, and was accused by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and former teammates of being the kingpin of the doping on his Tour-winning teams. “We had people saying he should compete because he has been through enough, and people saying he basically should be banned from everything,” said Ann Nellis, the director of Longhorn Aquatics, the host of this weekend’s meet at the University of Texas. “But we just carry out what the masters office tells us.”
His reputation is in tatters. He is no longer officially involved with the Livestrong Foundation, the cancer charity he founded after surviving testicular cancer, after stepping down from his roles there. Apart from a trip to Los Angeles, where paparazzi shot photos of him dining at a popular restaurant, he has remained out of the public eye. Until now. David Gogulski, who was going to swim against Armstrong in three events, said he and his teammates had been debating the issue of whether Armstrong should compete. Most were glad that Armstrong was barred from racing, but he was in the minority, he said.
Earlier this week, he sent an e-mail to the swimming event’s registrar, Liz Mason, who saw the name on the note and said she thought to herself: “This poor guy has the same name as Lance Armstrong, the cyclist. Oh, how unfortunate.” “If they’re not going to drug-test us, then why are they kicking Lance out for breaking doping rules?” he said. “I don’t agree with what he did ethically and how he treated people, but I think it’s taking it a bit too far to ban him from swimming with us. If he wants to play Ping-Pong on Thursday nights with a bunch of old guys, are they going to ban him from that, too?”