IOC to investigate Lance Armstrong's bronze medal from 2000 Games

The IOC may find a workaround to the eight-year statute of limitations for stripping Olympic medals to take away Lance Armstrong's bronze from the 2000 Games. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after a massive doping scandal report was released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in October. Now, the cyclist may lose an Olympic medal, according to a Reuters report:

"The IOC will now immediately start the process concerning the involvement of Lance Armstrong, other riders and particularly their entourages with respect to the Olympic Games and their future involvement with the Games," an IOC official told Reuters on Thursday.

Armstrong won a bronze medal in the men's individual time trial at the Sydney Games. The IOC has an eight-year statute of limitation for changing Olympic results and taking away medals from doping offenders, but the committee's vice president, Thomas Bach, indicated that there could be a way around the rule in Armstrong's case.

"USADA's report has given some pointers that the statute of limitation was interrupted through Lance Armstrong lying about doping," Bach, a lawyer who heads the IOC's juridical commission told Reuters in an interview. "We will have to examine to see if this is a way we can follow according to Swiss law."