Laura Kenny: British cycling legend retires ahead of Paris Olympics - 'I have had an absolute blast'
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Published 27/03/2024 at 16:30 GMT
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from cycling after a glittering career in which she became Britain's most successful female Olympian. Kenny gave birth to her second child last year and explained to the BBC that she knew the time was right to "hang that bike up". Kenny's glittering honours also include seven World Championship titles.
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British cycling legend Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from the sport, saying she knew it was “the right time” to step away.
Kenny is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, having won five gold medals on the track at three different Games - in London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
The 31-year-old also won seven World Championship titles, but her involvement at the Paris Olympics this July was put in doubt when British Cycling performance director Stephen Park said in March that there was only a “slim chance” of her featuring.
Kenny gave birth to her second child in July and told the BBC that she realised the time had come to leave the sport behind.
“I always knew deep down I would know when the right time was. I have had an absolute blast but now is the time for me to hang that bike up,” she said.
"It's been in my head a little while, the sacrifices of leaving the children and your family at home are really quite big and it really is a big decision to make.
"More and more, I was struggling to do that. More people asking me what races was I doing, what training camps was I going on - I didn't want to go ultimately and that's what it came down to.
"I knew the minute I was getting those feelings. Once I said to Jase [her husband Jason], 'I don't think I want to ride a bike anymore', I started to feel relief."
Kenny’s husband Jason Kenny is the most decorated British Olympian of all time, and together they had their first son Albie in 2017.
She returned to cycling, but a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy in the space of a few months after the Tokyo Games in 2021 made for an “unbearable” period that Kenny described as “the hardest few months I’ve ever had to go through”.
Although she initially hoped to compete for more medals in Paris this summer following the birth of Monty in July 2023, Kenny explained that she wants to put family first.
“I was getting these hesitant feelings," Kenny added.
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"Going on to win another gold medal, as much as I would love to do that, it wasn't giving me the energy I wanted anymore, it just wasn't.
"I wasn't thinking, 'I really want to go on and win one'. I was thinking, 'I really want to stay at home with the children'."
Kenny won gold in the women’s omnium and team pursuit at the London Olympics in 2012, before repeating the feat four years later in Rio.
She went on to claim team pursuit silver in Tokyo, as well as winning the inaugural women’s madison gold alongside Katie Archibald.
"I never thought I would go to a home Games, let alone go on to win two gold medals,” Kenny said.
"When I look back, I'm like 'wow, those two weeks did really change my life'."
Kenny’s list of achievements also includes 14 European Championship wins, two Commonwealth Games titles and victory at the British National Road Race Championships in 2014.
Kenny was made a Dame in the 2021 New Year’s Honours in recognition of her services to sport.
She suggested that she could move into a behind-the-scenes role with British cycling in the future.
"There's nothing set in stone but there are things I'm so interested in doing," said Kenny.
"Something to help the younger generation, whether that could be some kind of academy.
"I could never be a coach because that's just too much pressure for me, but maybe something in the background that would help the youngsters have the opportunities I had."
Team GB's cycling team performance director Park paid tribute to Kenny after the news broke.
“Laura hangs up her wheels as not just one of the sport’s greatest riders, but as one of the greatest sporting talents our country has ever produced," he said.
“All who have had the pleasure of watching Laura compete will pay witness to her peerless combination of craft and determination, which propelled her to become Britain’s most successful female Olympian and the first British woman to win gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games.
“Just as impressive, however, is the impact which Laura has had on her fellow riders on the Great Britain Cycling Team and the next generation of Olympic hopefuls. She has been a beacon of inspiration for so many, young and old, and I’m sure that the entire British cycling community will join me in wishing her the very best in the next chapter of her life.
“From Welwyn Wheelers and our talent pathway to the very top of the sport, we’re so proud of everything that she has achieved, and I’m sure she will continue to be one of our team’s biggest supporters for many years to come.”
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