Since 2000, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has been engaged in a battle against doping in sport.
The last decade has seen the unraveling of Lance Armstrong, as well as drug bans involving athletes sprinters such as Justin Gatlin.
Travis Tygart has been part of USADA since 2002, first as legal diretor and now as CEO, and this week Off The Ball's Joe Molloy caught up with him.He reminisced about the moment when he walked into the USADA office, where a poster of disgraced cyclist Armstrong read: "What am I on?...'I'm on my bike busting my ass six hours a day."
"While it was the saddest day in our office, when we came to the realisation that Lance Armstrong and his team perpetrated this doping conspiracy, we knew we had a job to do," said Tygart, who spoke about the process of coming to the belief that Armstrong was doping.
"Hopefully that gives hope to both young athletes today who feel the pressure of the win at all costs mentality, but also current athletes who are competing at the elite level to know that their decision to do it the right way is going to be enforced and going to be validated and if they do make the unfortunate decision to succumb to the pressure of winning at all costs and use dangerous drugs, that they're going to be held accountable."
Tygart and USADA also had to field phone calls from Armstrong who claimed that the fact that athletes had to give warning of their movements to the authorities was "bulls***".
Tygart recalls the frustration but always believed that the truth would out, as it eventually did.
But he also feels that Armstrong has a role in the sport by helping USADA make sure that everyone involved in his doping conspiracy is held accountable for their roles.
"Let's finally get to the bottom of that culture," he said, adding that he is hopeful that Armstrong will eventually acquiesce.
The conversation also moved on to the current divisive figure in athletics, Justin Gatlin.
Tygart admits that what is more unfair would be to change the rules mid-stream given that the American sprinter has served his time according to current statutes.
He also spoke about how far away lifetime doping bans are.
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