Montreal, Canada

The World Anti-Doping Agency maintained that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong must put his confession that he used performance-enhancing substances under oath if he wants his lifetime ban to be reconsidered or reduced.

"Only when Mr. Armstrong makes a full confession under oath — and tells the anti-doping authorities all he knows about doping activities — can any legal and proper process for him to seek any reopening or reconsideration of his lifetime ban commence," WADA said in a statement.

The anti-doping agency also said that it read "with interest media reports saying that Armstrong made a confession to talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview that will be aired Thursday.

Reportedly, Armstrong made the confession so that he will be allowed to compete in recognized triathlon events.

Earlier, Winfrey confirmed that Armstrong admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during his run to seven Tour de France titles.

Winfrey added that Armstrong "did not come clean in the manner that I expected."

Armstrong's confession to Winfrey was a complete turnaround from his earlier statements that he never used illegal substances during his cycling career.

However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive amount of evidence that showed he used performance-enhancing drugs and used blood transfusion to prevent testing positive.

The report led the International Cycling Union to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France crowns.

Aside from that, sponsors dropped Armstrong and the cyclist was forced step down from Livestrong, the cancer-fighting charity he founded, to shield it from controversies.

 

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