Lizzie Armitstead, the British cyclist who on Monday succeeded in her attempt to strike out one of the three missed drug tests that would have seen her miss the Rio Olympics, has launched an emotional defence of her conduct and insisted she was not cheating.
Attempting to explain in detail for the first time the circumstances behind her three missed tests, the first of which was struck from the record following a hearing at the court of arbitration for sport, Armitstead also laid some of the blame at British Cycling’s door.
She said that after two strikes under UK Anti-Doping’s whereabouts system – which requires athletes to say where they are for one hour a day and be available for testing – British Cycling had put in place a member of staff to assist her in December 2015. But she said that Simon Thornton later left the governing body, three weeks prior to her third missed test, and she was not informed. “We had regular contact and he would help me with any problems, effectively he was a fail-safe mechanism. Since meeting with Ukad my whereabouts updates have been as detailed and specific as they can possibly be,” she said in a lengthy personal statement.
“If Simon was still in place the following oversight could have been prevented. My overnight accommodation [the bed in which I was sleeping the morning of the test] was correct, but I had failed to change the one-hour testing slot. It was clearly impossible to be in both locations.
“This is where I believe I have the right to privacy. My personal family circumstances at the time of the test were incredibly difficult, the medical evidence provided in my case was not contested by Ukad, they accepted the circumstances I was in.”
However, it is understood that British Cycling did leave in place a support system similar to the one that had been agreed, although Thornton had gone “above and beyond” in assisting her with her whereabouts programme. Its role in the affair has come under scrutiny as have the methods of Ukad, after it ruled that the three strikes should all be ratified before the first got thrown out by Cas.
Armitstead, who won silver in the road race in London and is aiming to go one better in Rio, said that the first strike was rightly annulled by Cas because the Ukad doping control officer did not make sufficient attempt to contact her. “I was at the hotel I stated. The DCO didn’t do what was reasonable or necessary to find me. I was tested the next day, this test was negative,” she said. “Calling an athlete’s mobile phone is not a method approved by Ukad to try and locate an athlete. As such it is not an argument against me that I slept with my phone on silent in order not to disturb a room-mate. Put simply, I was available and willing to provide a sample for Ukad.”
The second, she said, was a “filing failure” rather than a missed test. “Ukad did not try to test me, instead this was an administrative spot-check. They found an inconsistency between an overnight accommodation and a morning time slot. A busy post-world championship period meant I had no firm plans and as such was changing address and plans very quickly. I made a mistake. This was an honest mistake rather than trying to deceive anybody.”
She said that many other athletes had made similar mistakes and passed a test later that week. She also pointed to her clean blood profile and the fact she has been tested 16 times so far this year. “I hope I have made it clear that family comes before cycling, I am not obsessively driven to success in cycling, I love my sport, but I would never cheat for it.”
Armitstead argued that her state of mind and a family emergency should have been taken into account by Ukad when it came to assessing her third missed test.
“A psychiatrist assessment of my state of mind at the time was contrary. In my defence I was dealing with a traumatic time and I forgot to change a box on a form. I am not a robot, I am a member of a family, my commitment to them comes over and above my commitment to cycling. This will not change and as a result I will not discuss this further, our suffering does not need to be part of a public trial.”
The debate around Armitstead’s missed tests, which led to her being provisionally suspended from 11 July, has caused raised eyebrows among some fellow athletes. But the Otley rider, who is the reigning world road race champion, again insisted she was clean. “I love sport and the values it represents. It hurts me to consider anybody questioning my performances,” she wrote. “Integrity is something I strive for in every part of my life. I am sorry for causing anyone to lose faith in sport. I hate dopers and what they have done to sport.”
Lizzie Armitstead’s statement in full
I am writing this statement in my own words, something I have wanted to do from the very beginning.
Understandably people have questions which I want to answer as openly and honest as I can. I hope people understand that speaking with journalists is a necessary part of my job, speaking directly to the public in a statement like this, which has not been ghost written or moulded by somebody else is unheard of.
I want to take responsibility for this message, this is my life and not a game of headlines. I want to state the facts but also try to explain my situation further. I believe I owe this statement to sports fans, people who love sport like I do.
As an 18-year-old schoolgirl I was introduced to the whereabouts system, nine years ago. Since then the system has evolved and developed, post October 2015 I recognised this and requested further education from Ukad, I will come back to this later.
By submitting my whereabouts I am consenting to people coming into my house or hotel and taking blood and urine samples. This is a part of my sport that I accept and wholeheartedly support.
To add some background before I explain the specific details of my three “strikes”.
I have been tested 16 times in 2016.
I have a clear and valid blood passport (a more detailed use of looking for doping violations by looking for trends versus anomalies in my blood values).
I have been tested after every victory this season.
I am on the road for around 250 days a year, with around 60 race days.
I have never tested positive for a banned substance.
I have never taken a banned substance.
I will present the facts of my three “strikes”.
Sweden: August 20, 2015
Ukad are allowed a maximum of two weeks to inform you of a “strike:. When I received the letter from Ukad I immediately contested it with a written explanation, this was not accepted on the eve of me travelling to America for my world championships. I had no legal advise or external support at the time.
Last week:
CAS ruled quickly and unanimously in my favour and cleared me of any wrong doing, because:
I was at the hotel I stated.
The DCO didn’t do what was reasonable or necessary to find me.
I was tested the next day, this test was negative.
Calling an athlete’s mobile phone is not a method approved by Ukad to try and locate an athlete, as such it is not an argument against me that I slept with my phone on silent in order not to disturb a room mate.
Put simply I was available and willing to provide a sample for Ukad.
Second ‘strike’: October 2015
Despite being reported as a ‘missed test’ this was in fact a ‘filing failure’.
Ukad did not try to test me, instead this was an administrative spot check. They found an inconsistency between an overnight accommodation and a morning time slot.
A busy post world championship period meant I had no firm plans and as such was changing address and plans very quickly. I made a mistake. This was an honest mistake rather than trying to deceive anybody. A mistake that many athletes who are honest with themselves will admit to having made themselves. I was tested by Ukad later that week and produced a negative result.
In December 2015, I met with Ukad and British cycling to discuss a support plan in order to avoid a third potential ‘strike’.
Simon Thornton from British Cycling was put in place to check my whereabouts on a bi-weekly basis. We had regular contact and he would help me with any problems, effectively he was a fail-safe mechanism. Since meeting with Ukad my whereabouts updates have been as detailed and specific as they can possibly be. Going as far as I can in describing my locations to avoid any further issues.
Unfortunately, this system fell apart on the June 9 when Ukad tried to test me in my hour slot and I was not where I had stated I would be.
Simon Thornton had left BC three weeks prior to my strike without anybody informing me. We worked under a policy of ‘no news was good news’ as outlined in my support plan with Ukad.
If Simon was still in place the following oversight could have been prevented. My overnight accommodation (the bed in which I was sleeping the morning of the test) was correct, but I had failed to change the one hour testing slot, it was clearly impossible to be in both locations.
This is where I believe I have the right to privacy. My personal family circumstances at the time of the test were incredibly difficult, the medical evidence provided in my case was not contested by Ukad, they accepted the circumstances I was in.
Ukad did not perceive my situation to be ‘extreme’ enough to alleviate me of a negligence charge.
A psychiatrist assessment of my state of mind at the time was contrary. In my defence I was dealing with a traumatic time and I forgot to change a box on a form.
I am not a robot, I am a member of a family, my commitment to them comes over and above my commitment to cycling. This will not change and as a result I will not discuss this further, our suffering does not need to be part of a public trial.
I hope I have made it clear that family comes before cycling, I am not obsessively driven to success in cycling, I love my sport, but I would never cheat for it.
To conclude:
I currently have one filing failure and one missed test.
The reason this hasn’t been discussed publicly until now is because I had the right to a fair trial at CAS, it is clear sensationalised headlines have a detrimental effect to any legal case.
In the days following the revelations in the press my family and I have been the victim of some incredibly painful comments.
I ask people to take a moment to put themselves in my shoes, I am an athlete trying to do my best, I am a clean athlete. I am the female road race world champion, I operate in a completely different environment to the majority of athletes in the testing pool.
I am self coached, I work outside British Cycling and its systems, I race for a women’s team that doesn’t have a budget to match a world tour men’s team who have staff specifically in place to supports riders with whereabouts.
I don’t wish to make excuses, I made one mistake which was noticed in a ‘spot check’ my second strike came at a time when anybody who lives for and loves their family would understand my oversight. It’s as simple as ticking the wrong box on a form.
I love sport and the values it represents, it hurts me to consider anybody questioning my performances. Integrity is something I strive for in every part of my life. I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain.
I am sorry for causing anyone to lose faith in sport, I am an example of what hard work and dedication can achieve. I hate dopers and what they have done to sport.
To any of the ‘Twitter Army’ reading this, do yourself a favour and go for a bike ride. It’s the most beautiful thing you can do to clear your mind.
