The news emerged earlier this week that British Olympian, Lizzie Armitstead had failed to attend 3 drug tests in the past 12 months.
The news only came out once the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cleared her of an anti-doping rule violation. Poorly timed with the Rio Games on the horizon, the allegations has thrown Lizzie’s reputation and integrity into the firing line.
“I love sport and the values it represents…It hurts me to consider anybody questioning my performances.” – Lizzie Armitstead
Despite being cleared on all accounts, it hasn’t stopped social media erupting with their two cents on the matter. In order to quash damning comments, Lizzie too the open forum with a heartfelt appeal, reconfirming her innocence.
“Integrity is something I strive for in every part of my life. I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain.
“I am sorry for causing anyone to lose faith in sport. I am an example of what hard work and dedication can achieve. I hate dopers and what they have done to the sport.”
The allegations arose after Armitstead failed to meet with the DCO (doping control officer) on several occasions. One incident took place in Sweden ahead of the Women’s World Cup event in Vargada when Lizzie wasn’t present at the time and place she had registered, however no further action was taken by the DCO to locate her whereabouts.
The second offence came due to a ‘filing failure’ – different from a missed test – when an administrative spot check in October found an ‘inconsistency between an overnight accommodation and a morning time slot’.
Following the second strike, Armitstead sought advice in order to avoid a third – and a potential ban – but a family emergency led to her missing another test on Thursday June 9.
Armitstead will not elaborate on the incident, asking for her right to privacy to be respected, but did state ‘my personal family circumstances at the time of the test were incredibly difficult’.
With the all-clear given to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we hope this unfortunate situation doesn’t interfere with her mindset for the race on Sunday August 7th.
