Lance Armstrong's announcement that he was abandoning his fight against charges from the USADA pushed donations for his Livestrong Foundation to a record high on Friday, according to Gilles Festor of LE FIGARO. The foundation "was boosted by the increased media coverage around the probable loss of his seven Tour de France titles" and registered record donations. On an average day, Livestrong receives €3,000 ($3,755), but by 4:30pm CDT Friday, Livestrong President and CEO Doug Ulman revealed it had received €62,000 ($77,612) from 411 people (LE FIGARO, 8/25). LE MONDE reported that Armstrong's sponsors "will continue to back him." In a statement Nike said, "Nike has the intention to continue supporting Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a foundation that Lance created to serve cancer survivors." Armstrong has been under contract with the sportswear company since '96. Anheuser-Busch, Oakley and Johnson Health Tech "have also showed their support for Lance." MLS club Kansas City confirmed that its naming rights deal with the Lance Armstrong foundation would not be affected and the stadium would continue to be called the Livestrong Sporting Park (LE MONDE, 8/25). In London, Fariha Karim reported that on Saturday Armstrong was riding at the Power of Four bike race in Aspen and commented on the controversy, saying, “Nobody needs to cry for me. I’m going to be great. I think people understand that we’ve got a lot of stuff to do going forward. That’s what I’m focused on, and I think people are supportive of that. It’s great to be out here" (LONDON TIMES, 8/26). FAZ.net reported that Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation "collected $51M in donations last year" (FAZ.net, 8/25).
