Golden girl Victoria splits from husband
OLYMPIC cyclist Victoria Pendleton and her husband Scott Gardner have split after nearly five years of marriage.
The couple, who met around the time of the 2008 Beijing Games, announced their separation last night. The Mail’s Saturday Diary had revealed fears for their relationship as far back as March.
In a post on Twitter, the gold medallist, 37, wrote: ‘After ten years together I am very sad to say that Scott and I have grown apart. Despite our best efforts in trying to make our marriage work, we have come to the decision to go our separate ways. It has been an extremely difficult time and a tough decision to make. We want to look ahead to the future and stay positive. We would both gratefully appreciate our privacy being respected.’
The split comes days after the athlete revealed she had suffered from depression in the wake of a failed attempt to climb Mount Everest in May.
Mr Gardner, 42, a former British Cycling performance scientist from Australia, reportedly opposed her plan.
The couple, who have no children, were in a relationship during the 2008 Games when Mr Gardner was a member of Team GB’s cycling coaching team.
Miss Pendleton, who won gold in the sprint final, later said in an interview with BBC Sport their relationship had caused friction between her and her team-mates.
After announcing the split on Twitter, the former Strictly Come Dancing star posted a picture of herself hugging a competitor after winning gold.
Next to the picture she wrote: ‘Just realised that last tweet was number 888. The number pinned onmy back in Beijing was 8888, a very significant number. #superstition.’
The sportswoman and jockey had previously admitted that her husband would have preferred her not to go on the Everest adventure with TV presenter Ben Fogle.
She said: ‘In an ideal world, he would like to be able to stop me, but he knows that won’t make me happy. He just thinks I am a bit crazy.’