Lance Armstrong
Childhood Of Celebrities : Lance Armstrong
Armstrong began his sporting career as a triathlete competing and winning in adult competitions from age 12. In the 1987-1988 Tri-Fed/Texas (”Tri-Fed” was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19 & under age group; second place was Chann McRae, who later became a US Postal Service Cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO National Champion. Armstrong’s point total for the 1987 season was better than the five professionals ranked that year. At 16 years old, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became the national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at age 18 and 19, respectively
It soon became clear that his greatest talent was as a bicycle racer after competing as a cycling amateur, winning the U.S. amateur championship in 1991 and, with the help of teammates Bob Mionske and Timm Peddie, finishing 14th in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
In 1993, Armstrong finished the year ranked number one by capturing 10 one-day events and stage races, including becoming the youngest rider to win the world road race championship, his first stage win at the Tour de France, and collecting the Thrift Drug “Triple Crown of Cycling”, which included three separate races: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO National Championship in Philadelphia. Thrift Drug said it would award $1 million to any rider winning all 3 races, which had never been done. At the CoreStates USPRO Championship race, on the final lap circuit, he sat up on his bicycle, took out a comb, combed his hair and smiled for the cameras.
Credit : Wikipedia
Technorati Tags: Celebrities, Famous, Early Year Pics, Cyclist, Lance Armstrong
