International Capsules: Tour de France champ Laurent Fignon dies at 50

Laurent Fignon, the Frenchman who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and lost to Greg LeMond in 1989 in the race’s closest finish, died Tuesday of cancer. He was 50.

His death was confirmed by the French government and the French cycling federation. Fignon said in June 2009 he had advanced cancer of the digestive system and was undergoing chemotherapy.

Fignon had been a television commentator in France since 2006. He worked through this year’s Tour, which ended barely a month ago, his voice gravelly from his illness and treatment.

"He was a great champion who used a combination of talent and will to win the Tour de France twice," French Cycling Federation president David Lappartient told The Associated Press. "He had an iron will, and was also a very intelligent man."

Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, called Fignon a "dear friend" and a "legendary cyclist."

"I will never forget the early 90s when I first turned pro, of course terrified of these ‘older guys.’ Laurent was always a friendly face with words of advice," Armstrong said in a statement. "He was a special man to me, to cycling, and to all of France."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a cycling fan, hailed Fignon as an "amazing and exceptional champion who left an indelible mark in the history of the Tour de France and French cycling."

In 1989, Fignon lost to LeMond by eight seconds. The two dogged each other for weeks, the leader’s yellow jersey passing back and forth. Finally, with only the last-day time trial left, Fignon had a 50-second lead that appeared decisive.

But LeMond, riding with an aerodynamic helmet and new triathlon handlebars that Fignon maintained were illegal, set a blistering pace. It was the fastest full-length time-trial stage ever ridden at the time.

Fignon rode last, using traditional handlebars and with his ponytail blowing in the wind. He gave everything he had, collapsing to the ground after finishing. But it was not enough. LeMond took the Tour by the smallest margin of victory.

"The cyclist who doesn’t know how to lose cannot become a champion. ... But to lose like that, on the last day, with such a small gap, and principally because of handlebars that were banned under the rules, no, that was too much for one man," Fignon said in his autobiography, "We Were Young and Carefree," published last year.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme said Fignon’s 1989 Tour defeat was steeped in cycling legend.

"This glorious defeat of 1989 is stronger than anything else in terms of media impact," Prudhomme told the AP. "I remember that lost look in his eyes on the finish line at the Champs-Elysees, which contrasted with Greg LeMond’s indescribable joy."

"Fignon was a great person, true to himself," LeMond told French television. "We were competitors, but we were friends. ... He had a very, very big talent, much more than anyone recognized."

In the book, Fignon admitted to doping, describing drug-taking in the 1980s as widespread. He said it was recreational rather than performance-enhancing — aided by the strong Colombian involvement in cycling at the time and accompanied by large quantities of cocaine.

He said doping in cycling was revolutionized by the arrival of the blood-booster EPO in the early ‘90s. Fignon said he refused to take it and retired from competition in 1993 when he realized that mediocre riders were now keeping up with him.

"The guy was a real character, both on and off his bike," said Marc Madiot, a former Fignon teammate and Francaise des Jeux team manager. "Hats off to him."

Fignon took up cycling because his friends did — initially against the wishes of his parents, who disliked the fact that amateur cycle races took place on Sundays, which they considered a day for family activities.

Despite his reputation for being well-read and his nickname "The Professor," Fignon dropped out of college. He competed in races while completing his army service before being signed up by respected sporting director Cyrille Guimard to the Renault team.

Fignon won the Tour on his first attempt in 1983 in just his second year as a professional, seizing the opportunity presented by the absence of injured four-time winner Bernard Hinault.

Fignon put on the yellow jersey for the first time at the top of the legendary Alpe d’Huez, and held it for the final five days, cementing his victory by winning the time trial on the next-to-last day. At 22, Fignon was the youngest postwar winner of the Tour.

If doubt still hung over Fignon’s victory because of Hinault’s absence, that was to be dispelled the following year when the two men went head to head. Fignon, already second in the Giro d’Italia earlier in the season, captured five stages and finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of Hinault.

"He was a fighter and like me was always vying for victory. We always had fair battles," Hinault said. "He fought this disease, too, but lost the battle."

Despite his disappointment in 1989, Fignon finished the year as the world’s top-ranked cyclist. But he never again came close to winning the Tour.

Fignon is survived by his wife, Valerie, and a son from a previous marriage.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

Spain’s Igor Anton wins stage of Spanish Vuelta

VALDEPENAS DE JAEN, Spain (AP) — Igor Anton has given the Spanish Vuelta its first Spanish stage winner.

He won a mountainous fourth leg Tuesday while Philippe Gilbert of Belgium remained the overall leader.

Anton broke away 300 yards from the finish for a one-second victory over Vincenzo Nibali of Italy, Peter Velits of Slovakia and Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain. Anton finished the 114 miles in 5 hours, 28 seconds.

Denis Menchov of Russia was 19 seconds behind Anton in 19th place. Carlos Sastre of Spain, the 2008 Tour de France champion, was 1:34 back in 25th spot despite being a climbing specialist.

Gilbert holds a 10-second overall advantage over Anton and Rodriguez.

Swimming

Fishers club coach agrees to 2-year coaching ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A critic of USA Swimming's response to a sexual abuse scandal was banned from coaching for two years by the sport's national governing body Tuesday after admitting he violated the conduct code.

Ken Stopkotte, the former Fishers Area Swimming Tigers coach, admitted he had entered times achieved by some swimmers in high school meets as the actual results for three club meets in February. Those meets were sanctioned by USA Swimming.

The deal, announced by Indiana Swimming, bans Stopkotte from USA Swimming membership for two years and Indiana Swimming membership for five years. The penalties will prohibit Stopkotte from coaching anywhere in the U.S. for two years, and any teams based in Indiana for an additional three years.

The two sides were scheduled to meet with an arbitrator Monday.

Stopkotte refused to be silenced by the punishment.

"USA Swimming has succeeded in removing me from coaching, but they will not succeed in silencing me from advocating on behalf of children that are sexually molested due to USA Swimming's inadequate policies, procedures and background checks," he said.

A number of lawsuits aound the country alleged that USA Swimming covered up wrongdoing and allowed a culture of abuse to exist in coaching ranks. USA Swimming has said it took steps to keep young athletes safe; at least 46 coaches and officials have been banned for life, mostly for sexual misconduct.

Stopkotte claimed he got into trouble with the sanctioning bodies after discussing an alleged culture of sexual abuse during ABC's "20/20" news program. As part of the agreement, an attorney for Indiana Swimming said Stopkotte was required to admit the investigation was not intended as retaliation for those comments.

According to the complaint filed in March, Stopkotte altered 180 swim times — including 31 that had been disqualified — or inserted them into the final results. Indiana Swimming said in a statement that the governing bodies had never seen "violations of this type or magnitude."

Stopkotte denied any wrongdoing then, and though his words changed Tuesday, the sentiment did not.

"I admit that I took an administrative shortcut in submitting times and that I merged actual times achieved in high school meets into USA Swimming-sanctioned meets in February," he said. "I think it's sad and pathetic that USA Swimming and Indiana Swimming are more interested in timing than in protecting the young children that continue to be placed at risk by a culture that protects coaches at the expense of young swimmers."

Attorney Tom Schultz contends Stopkotte's critiques have nothing to do with what transpired in February.

The duplicate times prompted another coach in Northern Indiana to contact Indiana Swimming, which filed a formal complaint on March 22.

"He's used that as a cover for this from Day 1," said Schultz, the attorney for Indiana Swimming in this case. "He stipulated in our agreement that this agreement had nothing to do with what he said or what he did. So for him to issue that statement is sad."

In the agreement, Stopkotte admits he was "solely" responsible for the fraud, deception and dishonesty, Indiana Swimming said. Stopkotte agreed to both bans and also faces financial penalties. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"The financial penalties involved were important to Indiana Swimming to ensure that the members of Indiana Swimming did not bear the burden of adjudicating this valid complaint," Indiana Swimming said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that Stopkotte chose to deceive not only Indiana Swimming and its member swimmers but also his own swimmers and parents."

In a separate agreement, FAST agreed to pay an undisclosed financial penalty for the three swim meets and refrain from hosting any sanctioned meets until meet workers complete a workshop on meet management. That is expected to be completed before the club's scheduled invitational in October at Fishers High School.

FAST board members will also be required to attend workshops on swim club leadership and governance.

-- Michael Marot

Rice has right shoulder surgery

Caster Semenya finishes 9th in 800 at Italian meet

ROVERETO, Italy (AP) — World champion Caster Semenya lost for the second straight race, finishing ninth in an 800-meter run Tuesday in which she seemed at times to just be out for a jog.

This was her fifth race following an 11-month gender dispute. The South African finished in 2 minutes, 7.16 seconds at the Palio della Quercia meet in northern Italy.

"I ran the race, I ran slow. Nothing happened. It’s part of the game," Semenya said. "Sometimes you need to go according to your body."

Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin was second in the 100, his best time since returning from a four-year doping ban. Gatlin’s time of 10.09 seconds was 0.03 seconds behind that of Jamaican winner Johan Blake.

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius was third in the 400 B race in 47.14 seconds, far off the 45.95 he needs to qualify for next year’s world championships. He attributed his performance to fatigue. He flew in from South Africa earlier in the day after attending his grandfather’s 93rd birthday.

Elisa Cusma Piccione of Italy, who questioned Semenya’s gender at last year’s worlds in Berlin, won the 800 in 2:00.37.

Semenya was third at the Diamond League meet in Brussels on Friday. In that race, she finished in 1:59.66 — the fastest time of her comeback. On Tuesday, she was nowhere close to victory.

Semenya was third to last after the first lap and never made a move to the front. Afterward, she walked over to Cusma Piccione to congratulate her.

"It was a nice gesture," Cusma Piccione said. "I know she hasn’t trained much and it’s not easy to keep up your form. Maybe she’s tired."

Cusma Piccione called Semenya "a man" when she lost to her at worlds.

"Maybe I used words that were a bit crude, but I wasn’t the only one to use those words if you look at what’s being said now," the Italian said. "Maybe it was a bit excessive to have said that right away because you can never judge these things. But if she didn’t compete for nearly a year maybe there was something to that."

Gatlin won after two false starts that disqualified Ryan Bailey of the United States and Fabio Cerutti of Italy.

"It was a good practice for me and I bettered my time as well," Gatlin said. "I tweaked my quad just a little bit coming into home and had to slow a little bit but all in all it was a good race, going against good competitors."

Gatlin said he hopes to go under 10 seconds at his next meet — in Padua on Friday.

"Every time I run I get faster, I get more comfortable with myself, I get more comfortable with my race, so I still think I pose some kind of a threat," Gatlin said.

Gatlin won gold in the 100 at the 2004 Athens Olympics in 9.85, then tested positive in 2006 for excessive testosterone.

Regarding Semenya’s case, Gatlin said the rules need to be defined better.

"She’s a competitor like everyone else and if they say she can run in the gender that she’s running then so be it," he said. "I’d tell her, ‘Don’t be scared. If you’re a champion be a champion."’

Pistorius missed out on qualifying for South Africa’s Commonwealth Games team by 0.02 seconds when he set a personal-best of 46.02 in July.

"It just means I’m going to have to work harder in the future and find ways of training smarter and resting more," he said.

Pistorius went through a long struggle with track and field’s ruling body to race against able-bodied athletes amid claims his prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage.

That gives Pistorius a special perspective on Semenya’s case.

"I can understand her frustration," he said, referring to his fellow South African. "She’s younger than I was when I went through what I went through. I think she’s a stronger person for going through it and there’s lots of good things to come from her in the future."

-- Andrew Dampf

Olympics

Key critic during time of USOC turmoil steps down

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — One of the key critics of the U.S. Olympic Committee during its CEO switch has left his job as the leader of USA Triathlon.

The federation announced the departure of executive director Skip Gilbert in a brief news release, offering no explanation.

Gilbert also leads the council of America’s national governing bodies, though his future role there was not explained. He did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.

Gilbert is best known for criticizing the ouster of Jim Scherr as CEO at the USOC. He commissioned a questionnaire among NGB leaders that led to a harsh rebuke of Scherr’s successor, Stephanie Streeter.