'It's a sacrifice too far': Laura Kenny reveals she has chosen family first over gruelling training for cycling career

18 March 2024, 19:39 | Updated: 18 March 2024, 19:41

Laura Kenny has said she is retiring from cycling to focus on her family, with the profession becoming "a sacrifice too far".

The Olympic medallist announced her retirement from professional cycling on Monday, ahead of being expected to compete for Team GB in Paris this summer.

Speaking on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, Ms Kenny said with her first child she was "so focused on trying to prove that you could do both and you could juggle both and yes, sacrifices would have to be made, but in the end they would be worth it".

She continued: "For me right now, it just feels like it’s a sacrifice too far.

"As much as I would like to say ‘yes, you can have everything’, you’ve got to make sure the sacrifices are worth it and for me now it’s too much. I don’t want to leave my little boys anymore."

Reflecting on her career, Ms Kenny said: "I am so proud of what I was actually able to achieve and the fact I could maintain Olympic success for so long is what I'm most proud of."

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Ms Kenny was the first British woman to win golds at three consecutive Games after her titles at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

She told Andrew that it was not the end for her, with her looking forward to taking up running and potentially doing the London marathon.

The champion, who gave birth to her second child last year, says "it's now time to move on" to the "next chapter".

She is married to Sir Jason Kenny - former cyclist and Britain's most decorated male Olympian.

In a tweet shared on Monday, Ms Kenny said: "Thank you cycling for everything you’ve given me - including a husband and our growing family!

"Having people say I have inspired women and girls to get active and get on a bike means the world to me.

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"Thanks to Team GB, British Cycling and all the partners who have supported my journey.

"A special thanks to every team mate I have had over the years and of course to my family for being the best support unit I could ever have wished for.

"It’s now time for the next chapter."

Kenny also had seven world titles and 14 European titles as part of a career haul of 67 medals across the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, UCI World Cups and Commonwealth Games, with 47 of them gold.

She had been expected to compete in Paris this summer.

Laura Trott was born in Harlow in 1992 a month premature with a collapsed lung.

She was diagnosed with asthma and advised to take up sport to regulate her breathing.

Her sister Emma is also a professional cyclist.