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Anti-doping summit hears tribute to Tygart for pursuit of Armstrong

2012-11-13 16:46 AIPS


 US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart. 
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PARIS, November 13, 2012 - The “exceptional” work of Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti Doping Agency, has been hailed by French Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron in Paris.
 
Fourneyron was opening an international conference focusing on the pharmaceutical industry and the fight against doping and attended by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey and senior directors of the Council of Europe, UNESCO as well as French sports leaders.

Tygart earned his niche in modern sports history with his dogged pursuit of dope cheat Lance Armstrong which led, eventually, to the American cyclist being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Fourneyron, a former sports doctor who was appointed Sports Minister on the election last May of Francois Hollande as French President, said: “What Mr Tygart has done is exceptional, let’s not mince words. By professionalism, by his commitment to the ultimate triumph of the truth, he brought down someone claiming to be the greatest cyclist in the world but who was, in fact, the greatest cheat.

“This is absolute proof for those who still doubted that . . . the truth will eventually catch all those who violate the spirit of sport.”

But Fourneyron warned that a great deal of work remained, a theme echoed by Fahey who considered the Armstrong case just one chapter in a battle which could never be entirely won.

“Bubbling away below the surface,” he said, “are still problems that could surface at any time . . . this is a fight sadly that will never be won.”

At least Fahey believed that progress was being made in both education and eradication.

He said: “I believe there’s far greater awareness. We’ve got more knowledge of the damage that can happen, and I believe that each time we can catch someone in the manner we’ve seen so sensationally with Armstrong, the deterrent factor is important.”

Lessons from the Armstrong case included the importance of policing the entourages of athletes since “those [cycling] teams consisted not only of athletes but a fairly extensive entourage who supported what was occurring over that period.”

Fahey was also concerned to ‘bring onside' pharmaceutical companies in the fight against sports doping because of the number of unlicensed products flooding the market.

Rogge warned that the anti-doping fight should not be concentrated only on the competitors.

He said: “Corruption in sports invariably implicates other forms of corruption. Sophisticated doping often implicates organized crime networks which operate beyond national borders.

“We need help from governments, but also those who are there to apply the law, scientists, the medical community, coaches and the pharmaceutical industry.

“Doping cartels are constantly seeking new ways to avoid detection and they always seek new substances. It is heartening to see that several pharmaceutical industries have contributed to anti-doping efforts.” (By Keir Radnedge, Chairman, AIPS Football Commission)

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