Laura Kenny, the most successful female Olympian in British history, declared on Monday that she will not be competing in the Games in Paris and will retire from cycling at the age of 31.
Kenny won five gold medals and one silver during the Olympics. He took home gold in the team pursuit and omnium events in London in 2012. He made the same achievements in Rio four years later. In Tokyo, he took home gold in the Madison and silver in the team pursuit.
During her illustrious career, she also won fourteen European crowns and seven World Championships.
In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Laura Kenny, who gave birth to her second child in July of last year, stated that the time had come to give up competitive riding.
I’ve always believed that the appropriate moment would arrive. It’s time for me to hang up the bike, even though I’ve had an incredible time,” she said.
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“The sacrifices of leaving the children and your family at home are really quite big,” stated Laura Kenny. Olympic cyclist Jason Kenny is Kenny’s spouse.
I was finding it increasingly difficult to pull that off. Even though more people were inquiring about my races and training camps, I ultimately made the decision not to go.”
“As soon as I started experiencing these kinds of things, I realized. I started to feel relieved when I informed [Jason] that I didn’t believe I wanted to ride a bike any longer.”
Kenny stated, “I was getting these hesitant feelings,” and “it wasn’t giving me the energy I wanted anymore,” after winning the gold medal competition. She declared that she was going to retire as well.
“It had a major influence on my life,” she continued. “I considered keeping the kids at home. I wasn’t considering the likelihood that I would truly win one.” She attributed her success in London to this.
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