The extraordinary story of Sir Chris Hoy, a truly Great Briton

Chris Hoy wrote his name into many record books during his career as a track cyclist, including holding the record for most Olympic medals by any Briton (before being surpassed by Jason Kenny). With the 2024 Olympics just days away, we thought it would be worthwhile looking back on the life and career of one of the greatest Olympians.

Hoy was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and began cycling at the age of six. Bizarrely, he claimed in an interview with Reuters in 2008, his inspiration for getting started on a bike was the film E.T.

Hoy’s introduction to competitive cycling came via BMX racing. At one point, Hoy was ranked ninth in the world.

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In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Hoy remembered a story of BMX heartbreak, having positioned himself in second, the Scot looked to push for the lead when, “after the last jump, my foot slipped and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get it back on the pedal fast enough. Two riders overtook me and I lost a place in the final. I was in tears afterwards.”

Hoy continued, explaining to The Guardian his father offered little sympathy following his disastrous slip, with Hoy saying, “He was trying to get me to learn from my failure. I thought I was home and dry so I allowed my technique to fall apart.”

With Hoy’s BMX career in the rearview mirror, he joined the City of Edinburgh Racing Club in 1993 and switched his focus to the track. His talent was obvious even in the early days of his track career, with cycling journalist Phil Liggett tipping Hoy as a medal prospect.

1999 saw Hoy enter his first World Championships. The 1999 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held in Berlin and saw Hoy win silver in the team sprint. 

Per the Olympics website, Hoy’s first games took place in Sydney at the turn of the millennium. The Scot was part of Britain’s team sprint trio alongside Craig MacLean and Jason Queally. The team repeated their performance from 1999 by claiming silver.

If Sydney proved to be Hoy’s Olympic baptism, Athens was his coming-of-age with the cyclist claiming his first gold medal in the Kilo, a 1km time-trial, per the Games’ website.

With the Kilo dropped for the 2008 Beijing games, Hoy switched his focus to the sprint, match sprint and keirin (a motor-paced race in which competitors sprint to the finish following a controlled start, it often provides spectacularly close finishes). Hoy’s focus paid off, winning golds in all three events.

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Between the 2008 and 2012 Games, Hoy “added an applied science university degree to his list of achievements, as well as becoming a trained barista,” per the Olympics’ website. His talents are as varied as they are broad.

London 2012 proved to be a significant moment in British sport, with the nation winning 29 gold medals to finish third in the medal table, Hoy’s contribution was, once again, significant, not least because he was chosen as Team GB’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony.

Hoy was part of Britain’s team sprint trio once again, with the group winning gold whilst setting two world records en route to victory, per The Olympics. Hoy would also claim victory in the keirin again to surpass Sir Steve Redgrave as England’s greatest-ever Olympian.

The Olympics’ website writes, “Of the near 60 professional keirin races he [Hoy] has entered he has crashed just once, finished second four times and won all of the others,” showcasing the Scot’s utter dominance in the format.

Following the end of his cycling career in 2013, Hoy entered the world of motorsport, racing in various British GT and endurance races, with the last event taking place in 2019.

In February 2024 Hoy disclosed he has been dealing with a cancer diagnosis, per BBC Sport. With the Scot telling reporters, “I'm optimistic, positive and surrounded by love for which I'm truly grateful. As you might imagine, the last few months have been incredibly difficult. However, I currently feel fine.” He is set to continue his work as an Olympic analyst during the Paris games.

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