Excluded for life from cycling, threatened with a string of legal proceedings, Lance Armstrong had imagined his salvation in the liquid element. Missed. The most famous cheater in world sport had decided to participate this weekend in swimming races in his city of Austin, Texas, but the International Federation (FINA) reacted without delay by strongly recommending that organizers to refuse him entry. As a result, the former cyclist put away his swimsuit and gave up.
Now aged 41, Lance Armstrong had planned a first dive during a competition reserved for veterans, the "US Masters Swimming", an event which according to a local newspaper did not fall under the control of the Anti-Doping Agency American (USA).
But FINA sent a letter of protest to the organizers “asking them not to accept the entry of Mr. Lance Armstrong.” Cornel Marculescu, its executive director, explained to AFP: "It's a local competition and I don't know what's going on there, but we wanted to remind the rule that all members affiliated to FINA must recognize and respect the decisions taken by all bodies signatory to the anti-doping code. »
Lance Armstrong was entered in the three longest races of the competition, contested respectively over 500 yards, 1000 yards and 1650 yards in freestyle. He had recently expressed his new “passion” for swimming, a sport that he had often practiced for the purposes of his preparation for the triathlon. “Great workout this morning,” he tweeted at the end of March. “Solid WHAC Master swim session this morning. 3500 yards. I have good feelings in the pool,” he shared earlier in the month.
Promising. But FINA did not want this intruder, considered rather embarrassing for a discipline until then (almost) spared by doping scandals. The organizer of the competition called the agent of the former yellow jersey of the Tour to tell him that his client would not be welcome. Response from the agent, reported by the New York Times : “We bow. Lance just thought it would be fun to swim with his training buddies here in Austin in his backyard. »
