one of the most recognizable athletes in the world in
the early twenty-first century. His fame derives not
only from having won seven consecutive Tour de
France bicycle races but also from the fact that his
success in the race came after he had extensive sur-
gery and chemotherapy to treat advanced testicular
cancer that had spread to his lungs, brain, and ab-
domen.
Up to the time of his cancer diagnosis, Armstrong
had an impressive cycling career, specializing in
races over relatively flat or gently undulating terrain.
In 1993, he won the World Road Cycling Champion-
ship in Norway. Prior to his comeback from cancer,
however, Armstrong was not considered a serious
contender in major multiday races like the Tour de
France.
Armstrong has leveraged the success of his Tour
victories to advocate for rights to information and
treatment options for cancer patients. In 1997, he es-
tablished the Lance Armstrong Foundation to pro-
vide practical information to people with cancer and
to expand access to clinical trials of experimental
therapies. He has chronicled his experience as a can-
cer survivor and champion of patient rights in two
best-selling autobiographies.
In 2006, French newspaperL’Equipepublished
a report that alleged that urine samples linked
to Armstrong that had been collected during the
1999 Tour de France had revealed indications of
use of the banned performance enhancing drug
erythropoietin (EPO). Other vague allegations
of drug use have dogged Armstrong throughout
his career and retirement. Armstrong has consis-
tently denied using performance-enhancing drugs
and has never failed a drug test. He has been con-
sistently successful in a series of lawsuits against
those who have made doping allegations against
him.
Impact Armstrong’s seven consecutive overall victo-
ries in the Tour is one of the most spectacular achieve-
ments in endurance athletics. Four other riders had
managed five wins, but before Armstrong, none had
succeeded in their attempts for a sixth consecu-
tive win.
His athletic success and personal story, as re-
counted in his and others’ best-selling books, has
brought worldwide attention and funding to the
cause of cancer patient rights.
Further Reading
Armstrong, Lance, with Sally Jenkins. It’s Not
About the Bike.New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons,
2000.
Coyle, Daniel. Lance Armstrong’s War. New York:
HarperCollins, 2005.
Thompson, Christopher S.The Tour de France: A Cul-
tural Histor y.Berkeley: University of California
Press, 2006.
Margot Irvine and John P. KochSee also Cancer research; Sports. Arnett, Peter
Identification Foreign correspondent specializing
in war coverage
Born November 13, 1934; Riverton, New Zealand
Arnett and two colleagues from the Cable News Network
broadcast over air raid sirens and explosions in the first six-
teen hours of the 1991 Gulf War and remained in the capi-
tal after nearly all other foreign reporters had been with-
drawn. In Arnett’s assessment, the Gulf War was the first to
be covered “live from both sides.”
In 1966, New Zealand-American journalist Peter
Arnett won a Pulitzer Prize for his reports on the
Vietnam War. During the first ten days of the Gulf
War of 1991, he was able to obtain an interview with
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. In the interview,
the dictator defended his incursion into Kuwait,
blustered about his fearlessness, and proclaimed
that God was on Iraq’s side. The White House ac-
cused Arnett of being a tool for Iraqi disinforma-
tion, and thirty-four members of Congress signed a
letter to the Cable News Network (CNN) complain-
ing of “unpatriotic journalism.” Arnett won an
Emmy Award for the interview.
The most controversial CNN report concerned
U.S. bombing of a factory that produced infant for-
mula. A U.S. Air Force spokesman, General Colin
Powell, and the White House insisted that the fac-
tory was a disguised bioweapons facility, but no evi-
dence was ever found that it had produced anything
except powdered milk. Arnett stood by his story, fur-
ther infuriating U.S. officials.
In March, 1997, Arnett was the first Western jour-
nalist to interview al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin
Laden. In the interview, the Saudi expressed his be-The Nineties in America Arnett, Peter 53