Growing up in Edinburgh, he was inspired to take up cycling by the Hollywood blockbuster E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial and competed for both Scotland and Great Britain in BMX when he was 14, becoming Scottish champion and UK No.2. He also won a British Championship junior silver rowing medal for Scotland in the coxless pairs.
From 1992 Chris focused totally on cycling, first with the Dunedin club, then with The City of Edinburgh Racing Squad, at the time the UK’s leading cycling team, which earned him selection to the British national squad and set him on the road to success.
He won his first Olympic medal in Sydney in 2000 with a silver in the Team Sprint, and went one better four years later in Athens with gold in the 1km Time Trial.
It was in Beijing where Chris really announced himself, winning three gold medals in the Sprint, Keirin and Team Sprint, helping to set a new world record in the latter. He was the first Briton since 1908 to have won three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. He was knighted and became ‘Sir Chris Hoy’ in June 2009.
At London 2012, he was selected to lead out Team GB at the Olympic Stadium Opening Ceremony and took gold again in both the Team Sprint and Keirin to reach his career total of six gold medals and one silver and become Britain’s greatest Olympian.
Chris retired from competitive cycling in 2013 but his competitive edge did not deserted him and in June 2016, he finished the world’s most demanding motor sport endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a Nissan-powered Algarve Pro Racing Ligier LMP2 sportscar, partnered by Frenchman Andrea Pizzitola and Briton Michael Munemann. Chris finished 12th in his class and 18th overall, in the 60-car field.
He was elected a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy in 2017.
