Lance Armstrong likely to be stripped of Boston, NYC marathon times

Lance Armstrong’s results from the New York City and Boston marathons will likely be removed from the records, according to a report from Scott Douglas of Runner’s World.

This comes after the International Cycling Union’s decision to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban the American from the sport of cycling for life. The ICU said that its decision came from the World Anti-Doping Agency and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s 202-page report that showed Armstrong was part of a sophisticated doping ring during his seven Tour de France titles.

USA Track & Field is the organization that is charged with enforcing the USADA’s ruling in the sport, and in statements from both the New York City and Boston marathons, both events are prepared to comply with the agency’s findings.

Armstrong raced in the New York City Marathon in 2006 and 2007 and in a statement to Runner’s World, the marathon organizers confirmed that they will remove Armstrong’s name from the records once the appeals process is finished, but will still work with Livestrong, the cancer foundation that Armstrong helped create.

We anticipate that his results will come out of our records, but will wait for the appeals process to be completed before officially acting. We will stick to the rules and support USADA. Cycling said that Lance doesn’t have a place in cycling, and, unfortunately, he will not have a place in running.

His cancer foundation, Livestrong, will continue to be part of the marathon, and we will always remember the support and encouragement Lance gave to Grete Waitz through her courageous five-year fight against this hideous illness.

Armstrong raced in the Boston Marathon in 2008, and in a statement to Runner’s World, organizers said that they, too, will remove Armstrong’s name from the records once the appeals process has run its course.

We understand from USA Track & Field that they and we are required to follow the rulings of USADA in this area, and we see that the International Cycling Union has taken decisive action. It seems quite likely that this will require the expunging of all records of Mr. Armstrong’s performances in our and other events, including his performance in the 2008 Boston Marathon.

But there have been a great many developments on the matter of Mr. Armstrong over a rapid period of time. Perhaps there will be appeals. We have no way of knowing that. We will make every effort to be as thoughtful in our approach as the various governing bodies have been in theirs, and we will comply with the rules. Right now it appears that the application of those rules will require expungment.