Lance Armstrong - Biography

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by awa

Lance Armstrong grows up with energy and competitiveness, enjoying playing, swimming, and biking while loving the challenge of racing and refusing to quit when he falls behind. He trains relentlessly, running and swimming for long distances, and later discovers triathlons, winning the Iron Kids Triathlon at thirteen. As he matures, he suffers a severe illness that leaves him weak and in pain, and doctors question whether he will recover. Through determined fighting and continued training, he regains strength and attempts a major race in France despite setbacks.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Lance Armstrong

Childhood and training

Triathlon and early success

Illness and recovery

Lance Armstrong by David Lau HOUGHTON MIFFLIN LanceArmstrong by David Lau i HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURTSchool Publishers PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS:Cover ◎Doug Pensinger/Getty Images;1 ◎ Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images;2◎Patrick Gardin;3OGetty Images;4◎UpperCut ImagesiAlamy;5◎Getty Images;6◎Comstock Images;7◎ Joe Raedle/Getty Images;8C Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images;9◎Doug Pensinger/Getty Images;10 ◎Laurent Rebours Copyright o by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved.No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic ormechanical,including photocopying or recording,or by any information storage and retrieval system,without the priorwritten permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law.Requestsfor permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Miflin Harcourt School Publishers,Attn:Permissions,6277 Sea Harbor Drive,Orlando,Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13:978-0-547-02736-4 ISBN-10:0-547-02736-2 456780940181716151413121110 | If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge,Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers
retains title to the materias and they may not be resold.Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. | | --- | | Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication,or any portion of it,into
electronic format. | | --- | When he was young, Lance Armstrong was a lot likeother kids.He didn't have anybrothers or sisters.He liked toplay,swim,and ride his bike. But Lance could also ride hisbike for hours and swim for miles.Lance liked to race,andhe never gave up. Lance liked many sports,buthe was happierin a race than ona football or soccer field.Heloved to cross afinish line first! When Lance ran a race,he ranhard.If he fellbehind,he didn'tgive up.He justran harder. Lance also liked swimmingraces.He often beat swimmerswho were older and stronger! Lance trained hard to win.Each morning,he rode his biketen miles and swam three miles.After school,he did it again! Lance runs in a triathlon at age 17. One day,Lance heard about arace called a triathlon.In thisrace,racers swim,run,and ridea bike.Lance thought he wouldbe good at this race. He won the Iron Kids Triathlonwhen he was only thirteen! 5 To train for triathlons,Lancetook long bike rides.Sometimeshe rode all the way out of Texas!Then Lance had to call his mom.She would have to drive hercar to pick him up! Lance was sorry to make herdrive so far.But his mom wasproud that he was one of thebest triathlon racers in Texas. As he got older,Lance decided thathe liked bikeracing the most. Then everythingchanged.Lance gotvery sick.He wasweak and in pain.The doctors didn'tknow if he wouldever get well,orif he would everrace again. Fighting to get well was muchharder than racing,but Lancestill didn't give up. In time,Lancegot stronger.Hewent to Francefor a big race.The first daywent well,butthe second daywas too hard.He had to leavethe race.Peoplewondered if Lance had givenup on becominga champion.

FAQs

What sports does Lance Armstrong enjoy when he is young?

He likes to play, swim, and ride his bike, and he particularly enjoys racing.

Why was triathlon important to Lance?

He learns that triathlons combine swimming, running, and biking, and he believes he can do well, leading to winning the Iron Kids Triathlon.

How does Lance handle his serious illness?

He becomes very sick and in pain, faces uncertainty about recovery, fights to get well, grows stronger over time, and continues toward major races.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by awa