Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Plano, Texas. He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver.

Armstrong finishing third in Sète, 

At age 16, Armstrong began competing as a triathlete and was a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990.

He joined the Motorola cycling team in 1992 and had notable success over the next few years with the World Championship in 1993, the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, Tour DuPont in 1995 and 1996, and a handful of stage victories in the Tour de France.

In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with a potentially fatal metastatic testicular cancer. He had brain surgery, testicular surgery, and a long course of chemotherapy as the testicular cancer had spread to his brain and lungs.

He returned to cycling in 1998,

Armstrong won the Tour De France a record seven consecutive times between 1999-2005. 

In 2012 Armstrong was disqualified from all his results since August 1998 for using and distributing performance-enhancing drugs and was banned from professional cycling for life.

Armstrong had three children with his first wife, Kristin Richards, who he divorced in 2003. That same year, he began dating singer Sheryl Crow. In 2005, they announced their engagement, but they called off their relationship in early 2006. Her song "Diamond Ring" is believed to be about their broken engagement. He later dated Kate Hudson and Ashley Olsen.

His three children were conceived with sperm that Armstrong banked before he began chemotherapy for testicular cancer.

His heart is almost a third larger than that of an average man. 

In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation has become one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research in the U.S., raising more than $325 million from the sale of yellow "Live Strong" bracelets.