Lance Armstrong hero's quest

Birth (remarkable circumstance): His heart was 1/3 times bigger than an average one.

http://www.nndb.com/people/702/000030612/

Birth (life hardships): He was born into a poor, single-parent family.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Armstrong-Lance.html

Call to adventure: His mom bought him a bike when he was 7 years old.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Armstrong-Lance.html

supernatural assistance: His mother was a guiding force in his life. She worked very hard in multiple jobs to get him food and good clothes.

http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/lance_armstrong/index.shtml

Crossing the threshold: The U.S. Olympic development team invited him to train at Colorado springs when he was a senior in high school, risking that he wouldn't graduate.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Armstrong-Lance.html

Losing the Guide: When lance decides to train at Colorado, he leaves is mother behind.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Armstrong-Lance.html

Death of the Hero: Lance gets cancer in multiple areas.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/archives/oct96/lance.html

Journey to the underworld: Lance goes to an urologist, symptomes include coughing blood and a painful tumor.

 http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/archives/oct96/lance.html

Final Battle: Lance Armstrong Wins the Tour de France in 1999

http://www.nndb.com/people/702/000030612/

Master of Two Worlds: Lance is a cancer survivor and a world-class cyclist. He continues to dominate races for years.

http://www.nndb.com/people/702/000030612/

PIE blog

George Lucas's version of a Hero has some similar and some different values that the way a hero is interpretted in the story Blue Diamond.
In Star Wars, a New Hope, A Hero is described as a person who must win battles and slay evil forces. In the movie he is given a lightsaber, and is described as "an elegant weapon" which he must use to kill his foes. Obi Wan promotes the use of weapons in order to triumph and help him with his quest.
In Blue Diamond , A hero is someone who saves lives, rather than taking them. In the story, Doug says to is suicidal friend "You know I won't let you go through with it." refering to his self-destruction. This supports my point because Doug is trying to stop his friends suicide, tus saving a life, unlike in Star Wars where a hero is supposed to kill people.
In both Star Wars and in Blue Diamond, the Hero relies on smarts rather that strength. In Blue Diamond Doug thinks "Granted it was a small thing, but still he has to factor it in- and when it comes to factoring equations, studying or not, I could wipe the floor with Quinn." Similarly, Luke combats his foes using the Force, not brute strength. In both factoring andusing the force, the hero is not resorting to all out fighting, but rather mental tactics.
These points reflect similarities and differences within two examples of a Hero. That all Heros have their talents, and they use them for the greater good, with or without violence.