Chris Hoy

Sir Chris Hoy
MBE
Hoy in 2020
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Andrew Hoy
Born (1976-03-23) 23 March 1976
Edinburgh, Scotland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb)[1]
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Amateur teams
1984–1986Scotia BMX
1986–1991GT Factory BMX Team
1992–1993Dunedin CC
1994–2001City of Edinburgh RC
2001–2003Team Athena
2004Team Persil
2005–2007Team Wolfson Microelectronics / Miller
Professional team
2008–2013Team Sky+ HD
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's track cycling
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 6 1 0
World Championships 11 8 6
Commonwealth Games 2 0 2
European Championships 0 0 1
Total 19 9 9
Olympic Games
2004 Athens 1 km time trial
2008 Beijing Sprint
2008 Beijing Team sprint
2008 Beijing Keirin
2012 London Team sprint
2012 London Keirin
2000 Sydney Team sprint
World Championships
2002 Ballerup 1 km time trial
2002 Ballerup Team sprint
2004 Melbourne 1 km time trial
2005 Los Angeles Team sprint
2006 Bordeaux 1 km time trial
2007 Palma de Mallorca 1 km time trial
2007 Palma de Mallorca Keirin
2008 Manchester Sprint
2008 Manchester Keirin
2010 Ballerup Keirin
2012 Melbourne Keirin
1999 Berlin Team sprint
2000 Manchester Team sprint
2006 Bordeaux Team Sprint
2007 Palma de Mallorca Team Sprint
2008 Manchester Team sprint
2011 Apeldoorn Keirin
2011 Apeldoorn Team sprint
2011 Apeldoorn Sprint
2001 Antwerp Team sprint
2003 Stuttgart Team sprint
2004 Melbourne Team sprint
2005 Los Angeles 1 km time trial
2010 Ballerup Team Sprint
2012 Melbourne Sprint
European Championships
2010 Pruszków Team Sprint
Representing  Scotland
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester 1 km time trial
2006 Melbourne Team sprint
2002 Manchester Team sprint
2006 Melbourne 1 km time trial

Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and racing driver. He represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy has won six gold medals at the Summer Olympics during his career and two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.

Early life

Hoy was born and raised in Edinburgh. He studied at George Watson's College and at the University of St Andrews, where he studied Mathematics and Physics until 1996.[2] He later transferred to the University of Edinburgh.[3]

Cycling career

Hoy was inspired to cycle at age six because of the 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[4] Hoy says the BMX bike he saw in the movie is what inspired him to start cycling.[5]

Hoy has won six gold medals during the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He has also won eleven gold medals, eight silver medals and six bronze medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships between 1999 and 2012.

Hoy won two gold medals and two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2006.

In 2005, Hoy was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to cycling" in the New Year Honours.[6] In 2009, he was appointed Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours "for services to Sport".[7]

On 18 April 2013, Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling.[8]

Personal life

Hoy is married to Sarra Kemp, Lady Hoy, a lawyer from Edinburgh. They were married in 2010.[9][10] They have two children, a son and a daughter.[11][12]

Hoy's autobiography was published in 2009.[13] Hoy's first two children's fiction books, about a young cyclist called Flying Fergus, were published in 2016.[14][15] In 2020, Hoy published another children's book titled Be Amazing.[5]

Illness

In September 2023, Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer.[16] In October 2024, he said the disease was terminal.[17][18]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Chris Hoy Champion Cyclist". Chris Hoy official website.
  2. "Olympic Honorary - Sir Chris Hoy's student days at St Andrews". University of St Andrews. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  3. "Alumnus of the year 2012 Chris Hoy". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  4. Deborah Charles (19 August 2008). "E.T. fan Hoy is out of this world". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Chris Hoy: 'I had no natural ability as a cyclist!'". the Guardian. 2020-10-20. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  6. "No. 57509". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2004. pp. 13–18.
  7. "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 1.
  8. "BBC Sport - Sir Chris Hoy retires: Six-time Olympic champion quits cycling". Bbc.co.uk. 7 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  9. "Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy marries". BBC News Online. 17 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  10. Chris Hoy's mother, Carol, never more proud Archived 11 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 2 April 2017.
  11. "Son for Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra". BBC News Online. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  12. "Baby daughter for Sir Chris Hoy and wife Sarra". BBC News. BBC. 9 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  13. Chris Hoy (2009). Chris Hoy: The Autobiography. HarperSport. ISBN 978-0-00-731131-6.
  14. Sir Chris Hoy (25 February 2016). Flying Fergus 1: The Best Birthday Bike. Bonnier Publishing Fiction. ISBN 978-1-84812-561-2.
  15. Sir Chris Hoy (25 February 2016). Flying Fergus 2: The Great Cycle Challenge. Bonnier Publishing Fiction. ISBN 978-1-84812-562-9.
  16. "Sir Chris Hoy: Six-time Olympic champion 'surrounded by love' after revealing cancer diagnosis". BBC Sport. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  17. Aitkenhead, Decca (19 October 2024). "Sir Chris Hoy: 'I have terminal cancer but I still feel lucky'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  18. Perkins, Liz (2024-10-19). "One of Britain's greatest Olympians is dying of cancer". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-10-19.

Other websites

Media related to Chris Hoy at Wikimedia Commons