Lance Armstrong Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 2000

The Jury for the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 2000, convened in Oviedo, comprised of José Antonio Abellán, Silvano Alonso Díaz-Toledo, Ángel Mario Carreño Rodríguez-Maribona, José María Casanovas i Punti, José Ángel Castro Savoie, Miguel Ángel Escamilla, María Escario, Enrique Franco, Julián García Candau, Daniel Gutiérrez Granda, Luis Infante Bravo, Miguel Indurain, María del Carmen Izquierdo, Juan Antonio Gómez-Angulo, Alfredo Goyeneche Moreno, Earl of Guaqui, José Antonio Luque, Pedro Antonio Martín Marín, Herminio Menéndez, Santiago Nolla Zayas, Matías Prats, Manuel Luis Félix Rodríguez García, José Vilaseca i Guasch, Emma Villacieros de García Ogara, Ángel María Villar Llona, Olga Viza, chaired by Juan Antonio Samaranch, Marquis of Samaranch, and with José María García as secretary has decided by majority to grant the Prince of Asturias Award for the Sports 2000 to the North American cyclist Lance Armstrong.

In the world of sport, the two-times winner of the Tour de France stands for man's struggle to overcome illnesses that in many cases are considered terminal. Lance Armstrong had cancer, yet did not turn his back on life or sport. After undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, he took up sport once more, against the opinion of many experts. He is an example to the whole world of how a person can face and defeat such a terrible illness.

Lance Armstrong is not just a champion, as he has set up a Foundation in the United States to help those suffering from such a dramatic illness.

Oviedo, 1st September 2000