Sports’ Most Hated Man

In our current sport culture it is hard to imagine an athlete who’s career is more strongly defined by the use of performance enhancing drugs than that of Lance Armstrong. When you consider Armstrong’s story as a whole it is one that was designed to capture the attention of the sport world: and it did just that. From his battle with cancer, to being the top athlete in a sport known for its PED use, Lance Armstrong’s career before knowledge of his drug use was one designed to arguable make him the worlds greatest athlete. However, after finally admitting to using steroids in 2013, Armstrong quickly became sports’ biggest villain.

Armstrong faced a mountain of hurdles from the beginning of his career when it came to making a name for himself in the world of cycling. Americans were never truly considered to be successful cycling athletes. Although Armstrong won 7 Tour de France events in a row, only one American (Greg LeMond) is still considered an official winner of the event. In 2017 there were only 3 Americans in the entire field of nearly 200. So to have a young American Armstrong seemingly take over the sport, many traditional cycling fans had concerns and speculations. For Americans though, he was a hero.

Lance Armstrong’s celebrity only grew larger when returning to the sport after beating his battle with cancer. Everything was adding up to produce the greatest comeback story in sport history for arguably the worlds most dominate athlete. After years and years of dominance though, Armstrong’s fame was quickly shattered when he finally admitted that steroids and blood doping had played a role in every one of his 7 Tour de France wins. What made his confession so shocking was that he had strongly and publicly denied for years that he had any involvement with steroid use. He even went as far as to refer to himself as the cleanest and most tested athlete in the world. While he may have been regularly tested for drug use, it was also admitted that he had falsified and covered up all of these tests: sometimes with the help of physicians.

Lance Armstrong’s ultimate confession after years of stern denial came as a shock for many. He had been accused of drug use his an entire career and had somehow managed to come out “clean” every time. He had used his success and story as a marketing tool for his cancer charity and had profited millions off of his ability to hid his steroid use. Many athletes caught using steroids have ultimately been forgiven for their use and eventually it is forgotten that it was even a part of their career. However, due to the lengths and timeline that Armstrong went through to cover up his use, his career has ultimately been defined solely by his use of steroids. While steroids have been a catalyst for countless sport stories, perhaps none have resulted in an athlete being hated more than Lance Armstrong. The same substances that resulted in his rock star status would ultimately turn him into sports’ biggest fraud.

• Jacob Groat