Cyclist Lance Armstrong has always been a fighter. When he was in high school, he became a national champion in one of the toughest sports in the world--the triathlon--an event that combines swimming, running, and cycling. When Armstrong took up cycling full time, he won the world championship in 1993. In 1995 and 1996, he won the Tour Du Pont, the most prestigious bicycling race in the United States. Just when his career and life seemed to be going so well, Armstrong faced the most difficult challenge of his life--being diagnosed with cancer. Never a quitter, he was soon back in the saddle.

Growing up

Single parent

Lance Armstrong was born September 18, 1971. He is the only child of his mother, Linda, a 17-year-old single parent who worked as a secretary. Armstrong's mother married twice while she was still a teenager, but both marriages ended in divorce. "My mother never went to...