Cycling
Lance can be 'hero' again
2013-01-22 11:29
Edmonton - Oprah Winfrey believes Lance Armstrong can be a hero again.
And she thinks people will be willing to forgive him.
Winfrey
said on Monday that the hardest thing Armstrong has done in his life is
confess in an interview with her last week that he used
performance-enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles.
"If
he is willing to do the work ... he can be a real hero," Winfrey said
during a lecture in Edmonton, the first stop on a speaking tour through
Western Canada.
She said
Armstrong's fall from grace is so huge, it means a lot that he has
finally come clean. But he also needs to realize his life is not just
about a bike, races or a big mistake.
"Everybody
has the ability within them to rise again. What really matters in the
world is what kind of human being he chooses to be."
Billed
as "An Evening with Oprah," Winfrey easily switched between
motivational speaker and stand-up comic. She had the crowd of about
15 000 laughing, gasping and nodding their heads.
Unlike
the arena's usual hockey crowds, most people there Monday night were
women. Many came with girlfriends and some with their moms.