Armstrong Admitted doping during Recorded Interview with Oprah Winfrey

AFRIK UPDATE

                     

Lance Armstrong last night reportedly admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.

The cyclist is said to have confessed in an interview with American TV chat show queen Oprah Winfrey which is scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday.

'He had a private conversation with the staff, who have done the important work of the foundation for many years,' Livestrong Foundation spokeswoman Katherine McLane was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

'It was a very sincere and heartfelt expression of regret over any stress that they've suffered over the course of the last few years as a result of the media attention,' she added.

He promised he would try to restore the foundation’s reputation - before meeting his legal team to prepare for the Oprah interview.

Armstrong reportedly spoke to a room full of about 100 staff members for about 20 minutes, expressing regret for everything the controversy has put them through.

He told them how much the foundation means to him and that he considers the people who work there to be like members of his family. None of the people in the room challenged Armstrong over his long denials of doping.

Several employees cried when he told them: ‘I’m sorry.’ 

                                                       

Winfrey and her crew planned on filming Monday's session at Armstrong's home. As a result, local and international news crews were camped near the cyclist's Spanish-style villa before dawn.

Armstrong still managed to slip away for a run despite the crowds outside his home. He returned by cutting through a neighbour's yard and hopping a fence.

Meanwhile, the government of South Australia state said it will seek damages or compensation from Lance Armstrong after his reported confession to Winfrey that he doped during his career. 

South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said the state would seek the repayment of several million dollars in appearance fees paid to Armstrong for competing in the Tour Down Under cycle race in 2009, 2010 and 2011. 

Weatherill said reports Armstrong admitted doping during a recorded interview with Winfrey changed the government's view on its entitlement to compensation. 

He said Armstrong 'has deceived the cycling community around the world' by repeatedly denying he used performance-enhancing drugs during a career in which he won the Tour de France seven times. 

'We'd be more than happy for Mr. Armstrong to make any repayment of monies to us,' Weatherill said.

   

Those who had been successfully sued by Armstrong, including Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, are now seeking repayment of the damages they were forced to pay. 

Others are seeking repayment of sponsorships and prize money paid during Armstrong's career as the world's most famous professional cyclist. 

Source:Mike Dawes