A Brief History
On October 22, 2012, cyclist Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles due to allegations of illegally using performance enhancing drugs.
Digging Deeper
Armstrong had won the greatest bicycle race in seven consecutive years, a record performance. After years of accusations and allegations of cheating, Lance denied the reports, but was banned for life after an investigation. In 2013, he told the truth and admitted his cheating.
Science and pharmacology have made athletic ability reach unnatural levels, starting with steroids, basically forms of testosterone and including other stimulants, growth hormones, blood doping, sleeping in oxygen tents, and an array of ways to get stronger, faster, and more tireless.
Other famous athletes accused of or admitted PED users include baseball’s Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, and Manny Ramirez; football’s Josh Gordon, Mark Ingram, Bill Romanowski, and DeAndre Hopkins; and others such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, and Anderson Silva.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Hackney, Anthony. Doping, Performance-Enhancing Drugs, and Hormones in Sport: Mechanisms of Action and Methods of Detection. Elsevier, 2017.
Walsh, David. Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong. Atria Books, 2012.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Gawain78 of Lance Armstrong celebrating at the 2003 Tour de France, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work.
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