Lance Armstrong

Cycling phenom Lance Armstrong was born in Plano, Texas, where he attended Plano East Senior High School. Armstrong began his career as a triathlete, competing professionally as a teenager before transitioning to cycling fulltime. He first joined the Motorola Cycling Team in the 1990s, participating in multiple professional races before he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 1996.

Armstrong went into remission the following year and returned to racing. He boasts a prolific career in cycling and is a seven-time Tour de France Champion. After retiring from cycling in 2005, traded in his tires for running shoes and has participated in both the New York and Boston Marathons. The athlete founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which became instantly recognized by the yellow Livestrong wristbands that became globally popular, in 2004. He briefly returned to cycling from 2009 to 2011 before announcing his final retirement.

In 2010, Armstrong was sued by former cycling teammate Floyd Landis and, later, the U.S. Department of Justice after Landis alleged he was using performance-enhancing drugs throughout the height of his career. Armstrong publicly denied the allegations until 2013, admitting to them one year after being stripped of his career titles by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Armstrong shares son Luke (born in 1999) and twins Isabelle and Grace (born in 2001) with his former wife, Kristin Richards. The cyclist has been romantically involved with Sheryl Crow, Ashley Olsen, and Kate Hudson, whom he split from in July 2008 after a three-month romance. He later moved on with Anna Hansen and the two welcomed their first child together, son, Max, in June 2009. They tied the knot in 2022.