Lance Armstrong finally returns Olympic medal
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has returned his 2000 Olympic medal to the US Olympic Committee (USOC) nine months after he was stripped of it by Olympics bosses.
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has returned his 2000 Olympic medal to the US Olympic Committee (USOC) nine months after he was stripped of it by Olympics bosses.
"The International Olympic Committee [IOC] and the USOC had previously requested that the medal be returned. The USOC has made arrangements to return the medal to the IOC."
The confirmation came shortly after Armstrong had tweeted: "The 2000 bronze is back in possession of US Olympics and will be in Switzerland asap."
The American lost his seven Tour de France titles last year and in January admitted to years of performance-enhancing substance use in the most spectacular drugs case in recent years.
Following his public confession, the IOC ordered the return of the bronze medal he won in the time trial at the Sydney 2000 Games and declared the race results void.
Thomas Bach, who was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, had said the previous day the organisation was still seeking the medal.
"We will continue to work with the United States Olympic Committee to get this medal back as requested in our decision," Bach, previously an IOC vice- president and head of its juridical commission, told an IOC session in Buenos Aires.
"This [the IOC's January] decision has been communicated to Mr Armstrong and the USOC. This decision has not been appealed neither by Mr Armstrong, nor by the USOC and what we are lacking, sadly, is getting back the medal. Legally the case for the IOC is closed."
The once-revered athlete is battling to hang on to what remains of his reputation and his earnings and is fighting several lawsuits, including one from the US Justice Department and former teammate Floyd Landis.
