British cycling star Dame Laura Kenny, Britain’s most decorated female Olympian in history, announced her decision to retire via Instagram, thanking all who were supportive throughout her professional cycling career.
She took to her post to express the joy she found in encouraging women and girls to join cycling, thanking Team GB, British Cycling, her teammates, family members, and Team USA for their unfailing support as she closed this chapter of her journey – while hinting there may still be more in store!
In her illustrious cycling career, Dame Laura won five Olympic golds and seven world titles. She married Jason Kenny, another cycling icon and British Olympian, who became most successful with two sons born between 2017 and 2023.
She has taken this decision after suffering through a challenging period that included miscarriage in 2021 and surgery to correct an ectopic pregnancy, both of which she believed might prevent her from competing at the Paris Olympics. While initially she intended on returning to Team GB training after giving birth last year, that dream has since fallen through due to physical recovery issues from both surgeries.
Dame Laura began her Olympic journey by winning gold in London 2012 in the omnium and team pursuit, an achievement she repeated in Rio 2016 before adding further medals in Tokyo 2021 as the Games were delayed.
Laura achieved even greater heights at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Winning gold in the scratch race cemented her legacy and signified the end of an era in cycling.
