Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong has announced that his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, is expecting a child in June of 2009.
Armstrong was widely supposed to have been infertile following his treatment for testicular cancer in 1996. (One testicle was removed entirely, and the other was subject to harsh chemotherapy.) Armstrong and his ex-wife, Kristin, used sperm Armstrong had stored before treatment to conceive their three children.
This child, CNN says, was conceived “without the use of any artificial fertilization process,” though it doesn’t say where it got that rather precise detail.
It also isn’t mentioned in Armstrong’s statement, via his agent Mark Higgins:
“Anna and I are thrilled to confirm that we are expecting in June and our families are ecstatic and grateful. We are very much looking forward to what 2009 brings on many fronts. We appreciate respecting [sic] our privacy, as we are both eager to celebrate the holidays as a family.”
[Update: An Armstrong spokesman has now confirmed the au naturel conception.]
Examiner.com reports that Armstrong and Hansen have been dating since July of 2008. She is a University of Colorado grad and works for First Descents, a group that plans outdoor adventures for young adults with cancer.
The baby is due one month before the 2009 Tour de France, which begins on July 4th. Armstrong will be racing there for the first time since he won the Tour and then retired in 2005.
From the Who2 blog:
| Latest: | The 'S' in 'Harry S. Truman' Really DID Stand for Something |
| Next: | Remembering Harold Pinter: The Nobel Lecture |
| Prev: | "Internet Flooded With Shoe-Throwing Games" |