IOC Strips Armstrong of Medal

(ATR) The IOC says it will strip Lance Armstrong of the bronze medal he won at the Sydney Olympics.

"Following the recent decisions of USADA and the UCI regarding the competitive cycling results of Lance Armstrong, the IOC has disqualified Armstrong from the events in which he competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, namely, the men’s individual road race, where he finished 13th, and the men’s individual time trial, where he finished 3rd and was awarded with a bronze medal and a certificate," the IOC said in a statement.

"The IOC has asked that the medal and certificate be returned by Armstrong to the United States Olympic Committee, which should forward them to the IOC. The decision was taken in principle at the IOC Executive Board meeting in December, but its implementation required the expiration of the appeal deadline."

The IOC also declined to re-allocate Armstrong's bronze medal from the Games. Notably, time trial silver medalist Jan Ullrich of Germany was found guilty of doping last year. Armstrong also competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In October, the United States Anti Doping Agency released a "reasoned decision" that outlined how Armstrong employed a sophisticated doping system during the time he won seven Tour de France titles and his Olympic medal.

He reportedly admitted to U.S. television host Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancingdrugs in an exclusive interviewto be aired Thursday and Friday.

Other reports said Armstrong could implicate former cycling officials, including Hein Verbruggen, UCI president at the peak of his career.

Around the Rings reached Verbruggen for reaction on the IOC decision. When asked, the Dutchman refused to endorse the move or even criticize the disgraced cyclist. "I don't make anything of that. I refrain from comment"

Apparently aware of the rumors that Armstrong might testify against him, Verbruggen said he is concerned about what the doping cheat might reveal to Oprah on the interview to be broadcast later today.

"You always have to be worried, you don't know what deals have been struck behind the screen," Verbruggen told ATR.

United States IOC member Anita DeFrantz says the IOC had to take the action it did.

"I wanted to believe the man because he had faced death and he seemed to have managed that. But what he has done – and done to other athletes – is despicable," DeFrantz told ATR.

Reported by Mark Bisson.

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