With national team selections, triathlons, and not to mention seven consecutive Tour de France victories, Lance Armstrong is the most successful American–and possibility even the most successful international cyclist of all time.
But everyone has their flaws, and everyone makes their mistakes. Lance Armstrong is no different.
After years of scrutiny and dodging positive drug tests, the Founder of the Livestrong Foundation admitted in 2013 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he did indeed use performance enhancing substances during his cycling career.
Lance Armstrong admitted to the following: EPO, testosterone, cortisone, human growth hormone, blood transfusions, and blood doping. But before we delve into the drugs that Armstrong used, it is essential to take a look at his medical history. To say Lance Armstrong had a rough stretch of his life during his twenties would be an understatement.
Diagnosed with advanced stage three testicular cancer, hewas given a none chance to survive. The cancer quickly spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen. The day after his diagnosis, Armstrong’s diseased testicle was removed via an orchiectomy.
Doping allegations tend to follow the territory in the direction Lance Armstrong has taken his life. One could argue that the beginning of the allegations got their start when he began to work with already controversial Michele Ferrari. Ferrari had a sketchy past by that point, and that is putting it lightly. Additionally, he was not adept at making friends on or off his bike. He made it known his dislike of outspoken opponents of performance enhancers; his most famous being his encounter with Christophe Bassons. Albeit Armstrong most likely did take testosterone legally in lieu of his testicular cancer, however, his admission of using HGH and blood doping show that he was more than assisted in his Tour de France victories.
Performance enhancing drugs obviously increase the abilities of cyclists and athletes; but none of them come without their dangerous side effects and health concerns. Blood doping is most common among cyclists because of the endurance boost. EPO, or erythropoietin, is a naturally produced hormone by the kidneys that stimulates red blood cell production.
With an increased number of blood cells, athletes have more oxygen at their disposal, and hence more endurance and strength. It is interesting however that even though EPO was banned in the early 1990’s; the first test was not administered until the Sydney Olympics. Blood transfusions are similar in nature to EPO. Athletes draw blood with high hemoglobin levels and then infuse them back into their bodies before an event. According to USADA they have no way to detect this. The most common health risks are cardiovascular, as heightened hemoglobin levels thicken the blood.
The next enhancer, the corticosteroid, was something Lance was able to use as a loophole through positive drug tests because it is used in many skin creams. This is a man-made drug intended to mimic the natural hormone cortisol. These are not used for strength, but as stress relievers. Corticosteroids actually reduce inflammation that can lead to pain and swelling.
It was mentioned earlier that Armstrong used a cream prescription for saddle sores to combat positive drug tests. The side effects are much worse for this stronger steroid, including weight gains, mood swings, high blood pressure, blurred vision and osteoporosis. As always, prolonged use can lead to increase in side effects.
The third “drug” is testosterone. Again it is a natural hormone that is produced in the body. This hormone regulates bone density, fat distribution, muscle strength and red blood cell production. Testosterone increases red blood cell counts, but has similar side effects to blood doping and anabolic steroids. Muscle weaknesses and liver dysfunction are also dangers to testosterone abuse. Additionally, natural testosterone production shuts down when testosterone is put into the body.
Although Lance Armstrong did an incredible job in maintaining his image through his foundation and dodging doping allegations and positive tests, his admission to doping after all these years is almost worse because he didn’t simply admit to cheating and being caught.
Lance Armstrong admitted to lying about being caught.
Let it not be forgotten that Armstrong is still an exceptional athlete and even more an exceptional individual who fought many hardships in the earlier part of his life. It does not seem as though his image necessarily became any worse upon his admittance to Oprah due to the fact that many had suspicions of his doping all along.