Despite Stepfather’s Harsh Treatment, Lance Armstrong Didn’t Give Up His ‘Armstrong’ Title for a Selfish Reason

The career of Lance Armstrong took a downward spiral ever since his doping scandal came into the limelight. He won seven Tour de France titles but had them stripped off. Now, he works on podcasts and owns a coffee shop. Debates are out in the open if he is a cycling legend. However, his childhood was not one to remember. Having a complicated childhood, Armstrong once revealed his upbringing to his father while deciding not to change his surname.

The cyclist revealed what he went through in his documentary named “Lance.” He spoke about the difficulties he faced during his childhood and revealed the problems he faced. 

Lance Armstrong keeps his name

His mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly, gave birth to him when she was 17. Suffering from an “abusive relationship” with her husband Eddie Gunderson, she left him after some time. Soon after, she married Terry Armstrong when Lance was three. This, though, had a detrimental effect on Lance. Adopted at the age of three by Terry, he spoke about having a rocky relationship with his father and having tough times in his childhood. 

“I would leave a drawer open, and he would pull out his fraternity paddle and just beat the f** out of me. If I did that, my kids would be getting spanked every minute of every day! Like, who cares? f*** drawer’s open,” said Armstrong. 

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The harsh treatment he went through when he was young made it hard for him, but his father always spoke about it as a parenting model. Terry would often take credit for Lance’s success as he talked about how he pushed him to be the best. Hence, they had a rocky relationship throughout their lives. In the meantime, an interesting takeaway from this will be about his surname. Despite all the problems he faced, Armstrong did not change his surname; simply because it sounded good!

Sticking to Armstrong

Ever since he was young, he would win competitions throughout the year. Armstrong was the talk of the town, and he dominated the cycling events during the season. He started competing with this brand name while helping him reach greater heights. 

“I was already establishing myself and my career and brand or whatever that means. I like the name, Lance Armstrong. I think that’s a good name. It’s better than Lance Gunderson. That’s kind of a weird name,” mentioned Armstrong. 

He was one of the best cyclists for some time, even though he had a rocky relationship with his stepfather. To sum up, do you think the model of parenting is appropriate?

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