Published April 12, 2014 04:56PM
In the News: Armstrong's coach 'never participated' in doping
In a statement provided to his hometown newspaper, Armstrong's former coach says he "never participated in a doping program"
Lance Armstrong and Chris Carmichael. Photo: Graham Watson | <a title="www.grahamwatson.com" href="http://www.grahamwatson.com">www.grahamwatson.com</a>
Armstrong: Coach knew about doping — Gazette.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — In a statement provided to his hometown newspaper, coach Chris Carmichael says he “never participated” in doping, responding to a USA Today story reporting that Lance Armstrong testified in a recent lawsuit that his former coach knew of his performance-enhancing-drug use as early as 1995.
If true, it means Carmichael, who was coach for the U.S. Olympic team in 1996, picked Armstrong for the Olympics knowing he was a cheater.
In a statement to The Gazette on Friday, Carmichael said, “I have never participated in a doping program, not with Lance Armstrong or anyone else. My role as a coach has always been to inspire athletes to be the best they can be by focusing on training, nutrition and innovations in equipment and sports science.”
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Carmichael coached Armstrong as a young Olympian in the 1990s and was his personal coach for repeated wins at the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.
Carmichael’s Colorado Springs-based coaching business, Carmichael Training Systems, was successful in large part thanks to Armstrong’s success. And though Armstrong and others say Carmichael knew of the drugs early on, the coach defended his rider in the press for more than a decade.
“In 20 years, I never saw him use any banned substances, and in my eyes, seeing is believing,” Carmichael told VeloNews in 2012.