Six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy has announced that he has terminal cancer and that doctors have given him two to four years to live.
The 48-year-old former cyclist, who is one of Britain’s most successful and recognizable Olympians, shared his diagnosis with The Sunday Times newspaper, saying that he initially went to the hospital last September after feeling some pain in his shoulder.
A scan found a tumor there, before a second scan found primary cancer in his prostate which had spread to his bones. The scans found tumors in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and rib.
“As unnatural as it feels, this is nature. You know, we were all born and we all die, and this is just part of the process,” he told The Sunday Times.
“Hand on heart, I’m pretty positive most of the time and I have genuine happiness. This is bigger than the Olympics. It’s bigger than anything. This is about appreciating life and finding joy,” he added.
In the interview, Hoy also revealed that his wife Sarra, with whom he shares two young children, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) a month after he found that he had cancer.
“It’s the closest I’ve come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What’s going on here? It didn’t seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you’re already reeling,” he said.
In February, Hoy disclosed that he had been diagnosed with cancer, though he did not announce the type or his prognosis.
Hoy made his Olympic debut at the Sydney Summer Games in 2000 where he won a silver in the men’s team sprint event.
He won his first gold medal in Athens in 2004 in the men’s 1,000m time trial, before he became a household name in Britain thanks to his exploits at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won three gold medals across three separate disciplines.
At the London 2012 Games, he won two more gold medals and retired as Team GB’s most successful ever Olympian, though that mark has since been passed by fellow track cyclist Jason Kenny.
Since retiring, he has worked for the BBC as a pundit and he is currently covering the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen for them. On Sunday, he posted a picture on Instagram of the BBC team there and wrote that he was “overwhelmed” by the “love and support shown to my family and me.”
“You may see in the news this weekend some articles about my health, so I just wanted to reassure you all that I’m feeling fit, strong and positive, and overwhelmed by all the love and support shown to my family and me. Onwards!” he said.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those hailing Hoy’s “positivity” on Sunday. “Such sad news. Chris is a British sporting legend. To face his diagnosis with such positivity is inspiring. The whole country is behind him and his family,” he posted on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, cycling star Mark Cavendish called Hoy a “hero of a human being” on Instagram, while double Olympic champion Becky Adlington said: “A true legend. You continue to be my only role model.”
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney posted on X that he was sending “every good wish to Sir Chris Hoy and his family. He has always inspired us by all that he has done. He is a person of incredible courage and that shines through today.”