Thursday 4 August 2016 12:39, UK
Lizzie Armitstead says "incredibly difficult" family circumstances led to her missing a third drugs test which put her participation at the Rio Olympics in doubt.
The 27-year-old, who will feature in the road race on Sunday, was charged with an anti-doping violation and provisionally suspended by UK Anti-Doping in July before successfully appealing on the grounds that the first missed test was a result of the tester not trying hard enough to locate her.
She admitted on Tuesday she was "naive" in not challenging her first test until the threat of a suspension loomed large, but in a lengthy statement released on Twitter, Armitstead set out a passionate defence of her circumstances, explaining she has been tested 16 times in 2016 and has a "clear and valid" blood passport.
"Simon Thornton from British Cycling was put in place to check my whereabouts on a bi-weekly basis," she wrote. "We had regular contact and he would help me with any problems, effectively he was a fail-safe mechanism.
"Unfortunately, this system fell apart on the June 9 when UKAD tried to test me in my hour slot and I was not where I had stated I would be.
"Simon Thornton had left BC three weeks prior to my strike without anybody informing me. We worked under a policy of 'no news was good news' as outlined in my support plan with UKAD. If Simon was still in place the following oversight could have been prevented.
"This is where I believe I have the right to privacy," she wrote. "My personal family circumstances at the time of the test were incredibly difficult. The medical evidence provided in my case was not contested by UKAD (UK Anti-Doping). They accepted the circumstances I was in.
"UKAD did not perceive my situation to be 'extreme' enough to alleviate me of a negligence charge. A psychiatrist assessment of my state of mind at the time was contrary.
"In my defence I was dealing with a traumatic time and I forgot to change a box on a form. I am not a robot, I am a member of a family - my commitment to them comes over and above my commitment to cycling. This will not change and as a result I will not discuss this further. Our suffering does not need to be part of a public trial.
"I hope I have made it clear that family comes before cycling. I am not obsessively driven to success in cycling. I love my sport, but I would never cheat for it."
Armitstead concluded her 1,275-word statement by saying: "I love sport and the values it represents. It hurts me to consider anybody questioning my performances.
"Integrity is something I strive for in every part of my life.
"I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain, I am sorry for causing anyone to lose faith in sport, I am an example of what hard work and dedication can achieve. I hate dopers and what they have done to sport."
