THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC Committee (IOC) is still awaiting the return of Lance Armstrong’s Olympic bronze medal — nine months after they asked for it back.
The IOC wrote to Armstrong, who was third in the time-trial event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, in January to ask him hand back the medal.
But Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC’s judicial commission, revealed today that the disgraced American cyclist has yet to honour his promise to return it.
“We declared his result null and void and decided not to bump up anyone into the bronze medal position,” said Bach, who is the favourite to succeed outgoing IOC President Jacques Rogge in Tuesday’s election in Buenos Aires.
“This has not been challenged but we are sadly lacking the medal.
“We are working with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to get it back as we requested.”
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life in October 2012 after the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) produced evidence of widespread doping by him and his former team-mates.