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Saturday, September 30
Armstrong finally gets Olympic medal
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Don't adjust your television. If the
Olympic gold medal hanging from Lance Armstrong's neck looks more
like a bronze, there's a simple explanation.
|  | | Lance Armstrong earned his first Olympic medal by riding to the bronze Saturday in the men's time trial. |
It is a bronze.
Armstrong placed third in the 33-mile Olympic time trial
Saturday, giving his best effort but falling short in his drive for
gold. Afterward, the two-time Tour de France champion saw no reason
to apologize.
"I came to win the gold medal, but I can't complain," he said.
"I went as hard as I could. I wish I could tell you I had a
problem like a flat or I felt bad or I had bad legs. To me, the
ride was complete."
The gold went to Viacheslav Ekimov of Russia, who races with
Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Service trade team.
Ekimov was timed in 57 minutes, 40 seconds, seven seconds better
than silver medalist Jan Ullrich of Germany, who won Wednesday's
road race, and 34 seconds ahead of Armstrong.
"I just didn't go as fast as the other two," said Armstrong,
of Austin, Texas. "They are both great bike riders. I'm not going
to cry about it."
After he broke a neck vertebra in a collision with a car one
month ago, there were questions about how Armstrong would perform
in Sydney. He insisted the injury wasn't a factor in the time trial
or his 13th-place finish in the road race.
"The test that I did before I came over said I was close," he
said, referring to his victory in the Grand Prix des Nations time
trial two weeks ago.
As another Olympic warmup, Armstrong teamed with Ekimov to win a
dual event, the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx time trial on Aug. 27, two
days before Armstrong's crash.
The two are buddies, rooming together when the Postal Service
team travels. Armstrong got the headlines when he rolled down the
Champs-Elysees, but Ekimov was one of his workhorses, sort of an
offensive lineman on wheels.
"If you watched the Tour de France, he put it all on the line
for me to win," Armstrong said. "As upset as I am not to win a
gold medal, I'm that much happier for him to win one. He's a true
champion and a true gentleman."
Tyler Hamilton of Marblehead, Mass., another Postal Service team
member, finished 10th in 59:26.
Ekimov raced in the second of three flights, with Armstrong,
Ullrich and other top riders assigned to the third flight. After he
rode, Ekimov watched from the pits and smiled broadly as his time
survived the assaults.
"I was totally nervous watching the last riders," said Ekimov,
who won the gold in pursuit for the former Soviet Union at the
Seoul Olympics. "I hoped inside to get a top five would be great,
but this is just outstanding."
It was a sunny day with breezy winds. When a reporter suggested
Ekimov may have had an advantage by riding when winds were low,
Armstrong refused to make it an issue.
"If you're asking if the wind in the third wave was more than
the wind in the second wave, I don't want to say that. I was here
when the riders in the second wave were riding and it was windy
also," he said.
While Armstrong didn't get the gold he wanted, at least he has a
medal for his crowded trophy case. Until the time trial, he was
0-for-4 in Olympic races dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
"I came to win the gold medal, but I did everything I could,"
he said. "I went as hard as I could. My heart rate was pegged the
whole time. I could not have gone any harder."
Gold, silver or bronze, Armstrong came to Sydney to celebrate.
The fourth anniversary of his cancer diagnosis is approaching.
When Armstrong raced in the Atlanta Olympics, finishing sixth in
the time trial and 12th in the road race, he was suffering from
testicular cancer, though he didn't know he had the disease.
By the time it was diagnosed on Oct. 2, 1996, the disease had
spread to Armstrong's lungs and brain. He went through surgery and
chemotherapy before resuming his racing career in 1998.
As he does each year, Armstrong will throw a party to mark the
date.
"Every year we have a party or have some special time with
friends and family," he said. "They've occurred all over the
world, sometimes in Austin, sometimes in France. This year, it will
be in Sydney.
"I'm glad the race is over and I can enjoy myself," he said.
"I had hoped to make it a double celebration but I can't
complain."
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