Top Olympian Dame Laura announces retirement
DAME Laura Kenny, the most successful female Olympic athlete in Britain, has announced her retirement from cycling.
The 31-year-old, who lives in Chelford with husband and fellow bike star Jason, has won five Olympic gold medals.
She was expected to compete at the Paris Games this summer, but told BBC Breakfast that it was time to call it a day.
Laura said: “I always knew deep down I would know when was the right time.
“I have had an absolute blast but now is the time for me to hang that bike up.
“It’s been in my head a little while, the sacrifices of leaving the children and your family at home is 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.”
Laura and Jason, Britain’s most decorated Olympian, married at St Alban’s Church, in Macclesfield, and their reception was at Prestbury’s Hilltop Country House. They have two children together.
Laura won team pursuit and omnium gold at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic
Games and madison gold at the 2020 Olympics, where she also won a silver medal in the team pursuit.
In addition she has seven world titles, 14 European crowns and two Commonwealth Games wins.
Laura said: “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.
“I never thought I would go to a home games, let alone go on to win two gold medals,” she said.
“When I look back, I’m like ‘wow, those two weeks did really change my life’.”
She was made a Dame in the 2021 New Year’s Honours and hopes to be at this summer’s Paris Olympics ‘in some capacity’ and stay involved with the GB cycling team.
She added: “Something to help the younger generation, whether that could be some kind of academy. I could never coach because that’s too much pressure.”
Great Britain team performance director Stephen Park described Laura as ‘one of the greatest sporting talents our country has ever produced’.