Lance Armstrong is to make a sporting comeback, but in the pool rather than on the bike. Armstrong will race in the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships, in his native Texas, this weekend.

Armstrong received a lifetime ban (in addition to the stripping of his seven Tour de France titles) from competing in events under the jurisdiction of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, for his use of performance enhancing drugs during his career as a professional cyclist. However, USADA codes do not apply to the Masters Swimming Championships. Masters Swimming does not perform drug tests.

US Masters Swimming is an organisation with members ranging from ages 18 to 104 and its main objective is to encourage adults to swim. Armstrong will race in the three longest races at the event – the 500, 1000 and 1,650 yard freestyle. He is seeded second in the 1000 and third in the other two events.

Armstrong began his sporting career as a swimmer, before competing in triathlons and eventually turning to cycling.

Doping suspicion had surrounded Armstrong throughout his cycling career, however the cancer survivor enjoyed massive popularity due to his dominance of the Tour de France and his high profile charity work through his Livestrong foundation.

A 2011 interview with former teammate Tyler Hamilton saw Hamilton accuse Armstrong of doping. That was followed by a 2012 report by USADA that rocked cycling and led to the UCI (Cycling’s governing body) stripping Armstrong of all titles won after August 1998, including his seven Tour de France titles.

The USADA report laid bare a massive doping conspiracy in professional cycling, which Armstrong led, and proved to be the most significant moment in one of the biggest sporting controversies of all time.

Armstrong then admitted, in a January 2013 TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, that he had used performance enhancing drugs during his career.