Dame Laura Kenny, announces retirement from cycling.

Dame Laura Kenny, widely celebrated as Britain’s most successful female Olympian, has declared her retirement from cycling.

In her illustrious career on the track, the 31-year-old Dame Laura Kenny clinched an impressive tally of five Olympic gold medals and secured seven World Championship titles. Despite her remarkable achievements, Kenny welcomed her second child in July. While initially aiming for a fourth Olympics in Paris this year, she has now announced her retirement from cycling.

“I always knew deep down I would know when the right time was,” said Kenny in an exclusive interview with BBC Breakfast.

“I have had an absolute blast but now is the time for me to hang that bike up.”

Kenny, who is married to former cyclist Sir Jason Kenny – the most decorated British Olympian, added:

“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, ‘I don’t think I want to ride a bike any more’, I started to feel relief.”

After giving birth to her first son, Albie, in 2017, Kenny demonstrated her determination by returning to cycling, aiming to show that athletes could successfully manage the demands of sport alongside motherhood.

However, in late 2021, Kenny experienced a miscarriage, followed by an ectopic pregnancy just months later. Despite these challenges, the Kennys were blessed with the arrival of their second son, Monty, in 2023.

In earlier remarks made in March, British Cycling performance director Stephen Park indicated that Kenny had only a “slim chance” of competing in Paris.

“I was getting these hesitant feelings,” said Kenny.

“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 any more, 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’s illustrious career was marked by numerous achievements. By the time she became a three-time world champion, Kenny had already captured the public’s attention with her gold medal victories in the women’s omnium and team pursuit at the London 2012 Olympics.

Reflecting on her journey, Kenny expressed that the 2012 Games stood out as the “absolute highlight” of her career. These two weeks were life-changing for her, not only professionally but also personally, as her relationship with Jason Kenny became public during this time.

“I never thought I would go to a home Games, let alone go on to win two gold medals.

“When I look back, I’m like ‘wow, those two weeks did really change my life’.”

Four years later, at the Rio Games, Kenny once again achieved the remarkable feat of winning gold medals in both the omnium and team pursuit events, making her the first British woman to claim four Olympic titles.

In the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenny secured a silver medal in the team pursuit. Additionally, she and Katie Archibald made history by becoming the first Olympic champions in the women’s madison, a newly introduced event at the Games that year.

Kenny’s achievement of winning a gold medal at three consecutive Olympics made her the first British woman to accomplish this feat and established her as the most successful female cyclist in Games history.

Although Kenny had initially planned to compete in her fourth Olympics in 2024, she had not yet resumed team training before announcing her retirement. The Track Nations Cup scheduled for April in Canada would have represented her final opportunity to accumulate the necessary points for qualification.

In 2016, Kenny clinched her last world champion rainbow jersey in the omnium and scratch race, triumphing on the same London track where she first made her mark.

With an impressive tally of 14 European championship titles to her name, Kenny also secured three medals, including two golds, at the Commonwealth Games.

One of these gold medals, achieved in the scratch race in Birmingham in 2022, followed a challenging period for Kenny, as she navigated through what she described as a “serious confidence crisis.”

Dame Kenny, honored with the title in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, expressed her openness to exploring various opportunities in the next phase of her life.

Regarding this summer’s Olympics, Kenny expressed her desire to be involved “in some capacity” at the Games.

In earlier remarks made in March, before the announcement of Kenny’s retirement, Park expressed his belief that she would maintain “an ongoing involvement” with the GB cycling team “for years to come.”

“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.”