Dame Laura Kenny: Reflecting on the career of cycling’s golden girl

Dame Laura Kenny, track cyclist and Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, has this week announced her retirement after 13 years representing Great Britain and England. To call her career of Commonwealth, European, Olympic, and World Championships success spectacular would be a profound understatement. She isn’t the only talented one in the family either: her husband, Sir Jason Kenny, has a collection of seven Olympic gold medals – more than any other British athlete.

The announcement comes just two weeks after British Cycling performance director Stephen Park cast doubts over the three-time Olympian’s likelihood of qualification for Paris. Despite months out of training, she had been targeting a fourth Olympic Games until very recently. Kenny’s struggles with miscarriage and the compromises of motherhood, an aspect of elite sport the cyclist has been open about, had limited her comeback after the Tokyo Olympics. Following the birth of their eldest, Albie, in 2017, the couple welcomed their second son, Monty, to the world in 2023. With a growing family, now is, in Kenny’s words, the “right time” to step back from the sport. “Once I said to Jase [Jason Kenny] ‘I don’t think I want to ride a bike any more’, I started to feel relief” she told BBC News.

Laura Kenny, then Trott, made her way into the hearts of most British cycling fans at London’s 2012 Olympics

Laura Kenny, then Trott, made her way into the hearts of most British cycling fans at London’s 2012 Olympics as a member of Great Britain’s triumphant women’s team. London’s Olympic Games ushered in a golden era for British track cycling as Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, and Kenny’s future husband, Jason Kenny, etched their names into the history books. In fact, the Lee Valley Velodrome meant so much to Laura Kenny that she went on to name her own dog after its distinctive nickname, ‘Pringle’.

Born a month prematurely with a collapsed lung and later receiving an asthma diagnosis, Kenny grew up in the Hertfordshire town of Cheshunt and began racing at the age of eight at the nearby Welwyn Velodrome. Alongside sister Emma, the Trott family had invested in the rider’s career from the offset despite Kenny’s health struggles.

At just 18, the cyclist won her first European title in the team pursuit and not even a year later became a world champion in the same discipline

Her commitment meant she quickly rose through the ranks as a junior. At just 18, the cyclist won her first European title in the team pursuit and not even a year later became a world champion in the same discipline. A staggering seven World Championships and five Olympic gold medals later, Kenny was awarded a damehood in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to cycling alongside her husband’s knighthood.

On the track, Kenny is perhaps best-known for her formidable performances in cycling’s elimination race, a discipline in which the last-place rider is removed every other lap. Cementing its place as a crowd-favourite, the cyclist’s indelible tactic of clinging onto the back of the peloton until the last second never failed to grip fans. Even with the caution from other riders, her track stardom, and notoriety of her strategy, Kenny’s success in the elimination race was rarely challenged. These truly entertaining showcases of skill won her the affection of British and foreign cycling fans alike.

She also played a crucial role in the growth of the omnium, a multiple race event, in track cycling. Although traditionally an event to encourage juniors to try their hand at several races, Kenny’s astoundingly consistent and commanding performances across multiple disciplines pushed standards in women’s cycling further. The omnium now stands as a highly-competitive and highly-regarded event.

The athlete’s openness on motherhood, miscarriage, and the sacrifices involved in elite sport laudably brought the grief, and lack of support many women face to the fore

In between her seemingly unstoppable domination of women’s endurance cycling on the track, Kenny turned her handlebars to the road in 2014 winning the British National Road Race Championships aged 22.

But it is perhaps beyond the velodrome where Kenny’s tenacity is most inspiring. Although approximately 1 in 8 pregnancies result in miscarriage, the trauma remains a taboo and many experience feelings of isolation around the rarely discussed form of loss. Kenny’s admirable strength in telling not only family and friends but engaging in dozens of interviews on her miscarriage in 2021, and then a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy two months later, makes her an inspiration to women. The athlete’s openness on motherhood, miscarriage, and the sacrifices involved in elite sport laudably brought the grief, and lack of support many women face to the fore.

Great Britain’s golden girl may have hit the brakes on her own stellar career but she leaves behind a generation of inspired female cyclists

In a 2015 Guardian interview, Kenny insisted that in 2024 she would “just be peaking” if then-fiancé Jason Kenny was still competing. Now, as much as it may dismay the fiercely competitive spirit of the cyclist’s younger self, Kenny has joined her husband in hanging up her cycling shoes. Resigned to the (perhaps less stressful) sidelines for Paris’ Olympics, Kenny hopes to spend more time with her two sons Albie and Monty.

Great Britain’s golden girl may have hit the brakes on her own stellar career but she leaves behind a generation of inspired female cyclists in the UK and beyond. Taking the reins from her, a multitude of talented riders will go to Paris this summer representing Great Britain. Whilst Kenny’s determination, poise, and authenticity will be missed, the likes of Katie Archibald, Neah Evans, and rising stars like Josie Knight leave the squad in more than safe hands.