Five-time Olympic gold medallist and Team GB’s most successful female athlete EVER announces shock return to sport
DAME Laura Kenny intends to ride at the Paris 2024 Olympics — even though people might think she is mad for trying.
But Kenny really wants to make her sons Albie and Montgomery proud.
Cyclist Kenny, 31, is Team GB’s most successful female Olympian, with five gold medals and one silver from three Games.
She has two children with husband and former rider Sir Jason — Albie, six, and Montgomery, who was born in July.
Speaking for the first time about her plans, Kenny said: “I obviously want to compete in the next Olympics.
“I know everyone thinks that I’m absolutely mad in saying that but if I don’t try, I’ll never know.
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“I would hate to be sat here thinking, ‘Well, I never even gave it a go to see whether I could make it possible’.”
Kenny today reveals her intentions to ride next summer in the Team GB and Toyota docuseries The Journey.
She added: “I hope both children see their mum as someone who was determined to make both things work.
“They will never have the burden of thinking, ‘Oh well, Mum had me and then ended her career’. Because I didn’t. I carried on. I made it work.
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“I hope that they look back and they can see that and see that from the day they were born, they were part of the journey.
"For me now, basically it’s rehab. It’s as if I have been injured and we have a process that I go through.
“Slow and steady at the minute. I cannot rush this on. It can be hard at times.”
Kenny’s last appearance in international competition was a gold and bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Herts rider came close to quitting the sport after suffering a miscarriage in November 2021 and then separately having an operation following an ectopic pregnancy.
But Kenny revealed: “The two different comebacks between Albie and Monty have been so different.
“With Albie I came back feeling like I had a point to prove, that you could be a mum and be an Olympic champion all at the same time.
“I think this time, I’ve come back for me. I’ve come back very much because I love riding my bike and I cannot imagine it not being part of my life.”
