LOS ANGELES: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong will discuss the doping scandal that dramatically brought down his stellar career during an interview with Oprah Winfrey next week.
The famed talk show host said a 90-minute special episode would address “years of accusations of cheating, and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs” throughout Armstrong’s “storied cycling career.” The interview will be Armstrong’s first since being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year and will air on the Oprah Winfrey Network. It will also be streamed live on her website, a publicity statement said.
Last week The New York Times reported that Armstrong, 41, was considering publicly admitting that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs, in an apparent bid to return to competitive sport in marathons and triathlons.
“Looking forward to this conversation with @lancearmstrong,” Winfrey posted on her Twitter site Tuesday. Armstrong re-tweeted the comment 15 minutes later.
In the interview, to be shown in a primetime slot next Thursday, Jan. 17, Winfrey will speak with Armstrong at his home in Austin, Texas.
Before the ban, Armstrong was competing in triathlons, and his Twitter feed is full of posts about his continued biking, swimming and runs.
His tweets also make clear he is following the media storm surrounding his fall from grace — and that he has not always been pleased with how the case has been portrayed.
“It took a ‘photographer’ to ‘write’ the most balanced piece we’ve seen yet,” Armstrong wrote on January 2, linking to an essay by cycling photographer Graham Watson.
Watson wrote, in part, “Outright angels do not win a Tour de France.” “Lance did what he had to do to win, and he clearly did it very well. If he cheated, he cheated the other cheats of that era, even if by doing so he also cheated an adoring public.” Armstrong has vehemently denied doping and it is not known if he will admit to doping on Winfrey’s show.
The show used words like “no-holds-barred interview” but also “alleged doping scandal,” “accusations of cheating” and “charges of lying” in its publicity statement.
The announcement came on the same day that “60 Minutes” said US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart told them in an interview to be aired Wednesday that Armstrong attempted to donate around $250,000 to the agency.
Tygart said he was bowled over by the “totally inappropriate” donation offer from one of Armstrong’s representatives in 2004, which he immediately refused.
“I was stunned,” Tygart said in the interview. “It was a clear conflict of interest for USADA. We had no hesitation in rejecting that offer.” Tygart declined to comment Tuesday on Armstrong’s decision to go on Winfrey’s show.
Tygart, who described Armstrong’s heavy-handed tactics as being similar to the “Mafia,” denounced a $100,000 donation Armstrong made previously to the International Cycling Union (UCI).
But Armstrong’s lawyer, Tim Herman, told USA Today on Tuesday that there was never a donation attempt from the cyclist.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his Tour de France titles and slapped him with a lifetime ban in October, after releasing a damning report that said he helped orchestrate the most sophisticated doping program in the history of the sport.
The UCI effectively erased Armstrong from the cycling history books when it decided not to appeal sanctions imposed on Armstrong by USADA.
The massive report by USADA included hundreds of pages of eyewitness testimony, e-mails, financial records and laboratory analysis of blood samples.
“We have an obligation to clean athletes and the future of the sport. This was a fight for the soul of the sport,” Tygart said.
US federal officials investigated Armstrong and his cycling team for two years but failed to charge him.
The decision not to charge Armstrong stunned Tygart. He was also upset when the US Justice Department refused to share the results of their probe with him.
Asked why he thought the Justice Department refused to bring charges, Tygart said: “It’s a good question, and one that if you finally answer, let me know.” Late last year, cancer survivor Armstrong resigned as chairman of the Livestrong foundation he created.
Armstrong to address doping scandal on Oprah
Armstrong to address doping scandal on Oprah
Russian teen Andreeva eases into French Open last 16, to meet Kasatkina
- She next plays Australian Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17, for a place in the quarter-finals
- She has climbed to a career-high ranking of sixth this season and became the youngest ever winner of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February
PARIS: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva eased into the last 16 at the French Open on Saturday with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.
The 18-year-old, seeded sixth at Roland Garros, sealed a 6-3, 6-1 win in 78 minutes on her first match point.
She next plays Australian Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kasatkina got past Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 in their third round match which lasted one hour 33 minutes.
“I knew she’s a very tricky player, she plays very interesting and makes it a little uncomfortable for me so I struggled in the beginning,” said Andreeva of her first meeting with world number 31 Putintseva.
“I practice against her so knew what to expect. I’m happy with the way I played today.”
Andreeva converted five of her eight break point chances, being broken once with 18 unforced errors to 16 for her rival.
Andreeva, who reached the semifinals last year, is hoping to become the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam title since her compatriot Maria Sharapova’s famous 2004 Wimbledon triumph.
She was still having to do school work during her run in 2024, which included a shock quarter-final win over Aryna Sabalenka.
She has climbed to a career-high ranking of sixth this season and became the youngest ever winner of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February, before securing another at Indian Wells.
Andreeva is hoping for another strong performance at Roland Garros, with both Sabalenka and reigning champion Iga Swiatek in the other half of the draw.
Kasatkina, 28, competing in Roland Garros for the tenth time, reached the semifinals in 2022.
‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
- In part 2 of his review of the 2024-2025 season, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak looks forward to the FIFA Club World Cup and and the developments taking place across City Football Group
ABU DHABI: Manchester City’s chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, has provided his annual review of the season to the club’s official online channel. In part 2 of the interview he reveals the team’s desire to retain the FIFA Club world Cup taking place in June and discusses the developments taking place across City Football Group. Here are some of the highlights.
On the FIFA Club World Cup…
“Well, as the defending champions coming into this new format, of course, we’re very excited. We’re very excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it.
“This is a very, very serious competition. I think, in the summer, the whole world will be watching this with a big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament.
“I can assure you we’re going to give it our best shot. We’re going in there to win it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.
“The team will take the rest that they will take right now, and then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup.”
On Manchester City’s North Stand redevelopment…
“It’s coming up very fast. It’s going to be a great addition to the campus. Once we start the new season, everybody will start physically seeing it a lot clearer.
“The hotel is also coming up nicely. It’s moving very, very fast, but we’re happy with the contractors on the ground. This is going to be a game changer. You will see over these next 12 to 18 months. This is going to be a game changer for the campus and for the club.”
On NYCFC…
“Well, more than the foundation, the work is fully now in full effect. Construction is happening at a fast pace. This is going to be an incredible stadium. We’re very excited about what we’re doing in New York, what we’re doing for that community in terms of a proper football stadium, with a team that now is closing in on 10 years.
“It’s been a great journey. And they’ve earned (it). They deserve a stadium, and finally, they’re going to get it. And we have now a line of sight of when it’s going to be finished and it’ll be transformative for football fans in New York, for our fan base, and really at a time where football is booming in America.”
On City Football Group…
“It’s developed very well. We look at City Football Group as a group, but then each team individually and each team gets the attention it requires and gets a lot of attention from the whole leadership team.
“There’s individuality with each club. Depending on where they are around the world, each one has its own requirements. But overall, one of the things that gives us confidence is how many similar models now are following our CFG model.
“There are a lot of other groups now that are pursuing what we have built at City Football Group, which tells you there’s an appreciation that this is a good model and it’s a model that’s effective.”
Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan face off in the Champions League final
- European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years
- Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020
MUNICH: Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday.
European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years.
Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020.
After spending billions of dollars and signing some of the sport’s greatest players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG is still waiting to win its first Champions League title. Those superstars have now departed, but coach Luis Enrique has assembled one of the most exciting squads in Europe, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia filling the void left by that trio.
Enrique is aiming to win the competition for the second time as a coach, having lifted it with Barcelona in 2015, and would become the seventh coach to win the trophy with different teams.
“The motivation for me is to win the Champions League title for the first time for PSG,” he said. “That is the gift I want to give the people, the club, the city.”
Inter was looking for a treble just over a month ago, but is now left with the Champions League as its only possible trophy. It lost the Italian title by a point and was knocked out of the Italian Cup in the semifinals.
“These players in these four years did a lot — won a lot and lost sometimes. It happens. But we all gave our all, everyone. We are proud to be Inter,” coach Simone Inzaghi said. “I dreamed of playing the Champions League final. I didn’t do it as a player, but thanks to this group of players I’ve been in two finals as a head coach.”
Inter has won the Champions League or European Cup on three occasions, most recently in 2010.
When does the Champions League final begin?
The match at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. local time.
Alcaraz fights into French Open last 16 as Swiatek, Sabalenka progress
PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare to book his place in the French Open last 16 on Friday, with defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka also through to the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Second seed Alcaraz won 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 against 69th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the night session to keep his title defense on course.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz arrived as the favorite at Roland Garros after securing the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open trophies in the build-up to the clay-court major.
But his fluctuating performances in the past two rounds have given his rivals reason to believe he is vulnerable.
“Today I honestly didn’t enjoy it that much. I suffered quite a lot,” said a relieved Alcaraz, who came from a break down in the fourth set to seal victory.
“That’s why doing a really good result in a Grand Slam is really difficult because you have to maintain a really high level for three to four hours.”
The 22-year-old next meets American 13th seed Ben Shelton who eased past Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title on track, coming through 6-2, 7-5 against Romania’s world number 60 Jaqueline Cristian in sweltering conditions.
Swiatek broke the 60th-ranked Cristian twice in a comfortable first set, but she was pushed a lot harder by her rival in the second and had to save six break points.
“She really stepped up in the second set. I had to step up as well. It was an entertaining match,” said Swiatek, hoping to become the first woman to win four successive Roland Garros titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The 23-year-old Pole will next play 12th seed Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh dispatched 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2 in a clash of big hitters.
Swiatek has a 4-4 record against Rybakina but has lost both previous meetings on clay. However she was relieved at avoiding Ostapenko, who is 6-0 against her.
A grinning Swiatek suggested earlier she had no preference as to her last-16 opponent before asking: “Am I a good liar?“
“Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn’t play poker,” joked the world number five who has not won a title since last year’s French Open.
Sabalenka produced a dominant display in a 6-2, 6-3 win over 34th-ranked Serbian left-hander Olga Danilovic.
But the Madrid Open winner, whose best result at Roland Garros was a semifinal in Paris two years ago, insisted the pressure was on Swiatek.
“Let’s just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row,” said Sabalenka.
The 27-year-old Belarusian next plays 16th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova who ousted Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 , 6-4 in their third-round tie.
Zheng Qinwen ended the run of Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4.
The Chinese eighth seed has now won nine successive matches at Roland Garros following her run to Olympic gold last year.
Zheng is through to the fourth round in Paris for the second time and will next play Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova who brushed aside Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-3.
Italian fourth seed Paolini eased past Ukrainian lucky loser Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4, 6-1.
Runner-up last year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Paolini next plays Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina who dug deep to see off American Bernarda Pera 7-6 , 7-6 .
Eighth seed Musetti won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 against Argentine Mariano Navone as he follows on from his runner-up finish in Monte Carlo and semifinal runs in Madrid and Rome.
But the Italian dropped his first set in Paris against world number 97 Navone.
“I’ve grown up a lot. A match like this I don’t know if I would come back a few years ago,” said Musetti.
“The heat was pretty tough to manage. But happy to find a way to turn around the match.”
Musetti next plays Rune who was two points from defeat in the fourth set before rallying past France’s Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
American Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, got past Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 , 3-6, 6-3 and meets Australian Alexei Popyrin, the 25th seed, who beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-4, 7-6 , 7-6 .
Arthur Fils, the 14th seed, withdrew ahead of his third-round match on Saturday, extending the host nation’s wait for a first men’s champion at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983.
Benzema’s double strike gives Al-Ittihad the double
- The Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate
- There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half
JEDDAH: Karim Benzema scored twice as Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Qadsiah 3-1 on Friday to lift the King Cup and complete the double after winning the Saudi Pro League title earlier in May.
At a delighted King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, the Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate with their fans. It marked a 10th King Cup triumph for the club to go along with its 10th league success.
There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half. Al-Ittihad had been on top for much of the game but both teams had come close. Fans had to wait until the 34th minute, however, to break the deadlock.
First, Benzema, who scored 21 league goals, did what he does best. Moussa Diaby freed Steven Bergwijn down the right and his cross was chested home by Benzema.
Then, after 43 minutes, Diaby floated a ball over from the right to Benzema at the far post and while the Frenchman’s header was saved, there was Houssem Aouar to finish from close range.
Just when the Tigers were set to head back in at the break in a very good position, Al-Qadsiah were back in the game. Cameron Puertas was bundled over the box and up stepped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to send Predrag Rajkovic the wrong way.
After the restart, the next goal was always going to be crucial and though Al-Qadsiah pushed for an equalizer, it was Benzema who settled the tie and won the cup in added time after Qadsiah’s Ezequiel Hernandez had been sent off for a second bookable offense.
Not for the first time in the game or the season, much of the good work was done by Diaby. The winger broke free on the left to put the ball across the goal for his fellow Frenchman to score from close range to seal the cup and the double with almost the last kick of a hugely successful — and long — season for Al-Ittihad.
