Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the Olympic and World Championships and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. Hoy is an 11-time world champion and a six-time Olympic champion. With a total of seven Olympic medals, six gold and one silver, Hoy is the second most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time. Between 2012 and 2021, he was the most successful British Olympian and the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time. His 17 global titles across four disciplines make Hoy the second most successful track cyclist at the global level of all times behind

Harrie Lavreysen Harrie Lavreysen (born 14 March 1997) is a Dutch track cyclist who competes in sprint events. He is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, having won the sprint and team sprint event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and adding the sprint, the team spr ...

. With his three gold medals in

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, Hoy became Scotland's most successful Olympian, the first British male athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games since Henry Taylor in

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

, and the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time. After winning a further two gold medals (in the

keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...

and

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

) at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Hoy has won the second-most Olympic gold medals (six) of all British athletes, behind Jason Kenny, and more total medals (seven) than any except fellow cyclists Kenny and Sir Bradley Wiggins. Hoy has won Olympic gold medals in more separate events —

(twice), match sprint,

(twice) and

kilo Kilo may refer to: *kilo- (k-), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 103 *Kilogram (kg), a metric unit of mass Music *Kilo, a funk/R&B band from Bloomington/Indianapolis/Indiana *KILO, a Colorado radio station *''El Kilo'', a 2005 album by th ...

— than any other cyclist. In September 2023, Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. In October 2024, he reported that his condition was terminal and that he had been given between two and four years to live.

Early life

The son of David and Carol Hoy, Chris Hoy was born on 23 March 1976 and grew up in

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He was privately educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

, followed by two years at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

studying Mathematics and Physics until 1996. He subsequently transferred to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, from which he graduated BSc (Hons.) in Applied Sports Science in 1999. Hoy, whose first bike cost £5, was inspired to cycle at age six by the 1982 film ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

''. Hoy says the BMX bike he saw in the film is what inspired him to start cycling. Before track cycling, Hoy raced

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

between the ages of 7 and 14 and was ranked second in Britain, fifth in Europe, and ninth in the world. He received sponsorship from

Slazenger Slazenger () is a British sports equipment brand owned by the Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct). One of the world's oldest sport brands, the company was established as a sporting goods shop in 1881 by entrepreneurial brothers, Ralph and Al ...

and Kwik-Fit, and was competing in Europe and the USA. He first became aware of track cycling when he watched TV coverage of Scottish sprinter Eddie Alexander winning a bronze medal at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

in Edinburgh. Hoy also represented the Scotland Junior Rowing Team and was second in the 1993 National Rowing Championships with Grant Florence in the coxless pairs. He played rugby as part of his school's team.

Early cycling career

Hoy joined his first cycling club, Dunedin C.C., in 1990, aged 14, and began concentrating on track cycling in 1993, when he joined the City of Edinburgh Racing Club. In 1997, he and fellow Scottish sprinter Craig MacLean were tipped as medal prospects by Phil Liggett. Hoy won silver in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, at the 1999 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the team sprint, riding at man one, Craig MacLean at two and Jason Quealley at three. Regular teammates in the team sprint over the years included Craig MacLean,

Ross Edgar Ross Edgar (born 3 January 1983) is a Scottish track cyclist who represented Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, where he won a gold medal in the team sprint riding ...

, Jamie Staff,

Jason Queally Jason Paul Queally (born 11 May 1970) is an English track cyclist. He won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Early years Born at Great Haywood, Staffordshire, Queally spent his childhood in Caton, a village near Lancaster. He a ...

, Matthew Crampton, and Jason Kenny.

Olympics

2000 Sydney Olympics

Following

's gold medal in the Kilo TT early in the Games, Hoy joined with him and Craig MacLean to win his first Olympic Medal, a Silver in the Team Sprint or "Olympic Sprint" as it was then called. Although they were beaten by an excellent French team, the two medals won for GB were to become the start of a renaissance of British track cycling after the debacle of the Atlanta Games, for which he and track endurance contemporary Sir Bradley Wiggins would eventually become the figureheads along with road sprinter

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

. All three would eventually win

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...

as cycling became mainstream in Great Britain.

2004 Olympics: Athens

Hoy arrived in Athens in the form of his life. His main event was the Kilo Time Trial. He was ranked No. 1 and was last man off. The sea level World Record was broken four times as he sat in the track centre waiting for his start. He had been involved in an accident in the athlete's village just a few days prior to competition where he came off his bike in front of a village bus, narrowly avoiding serious injury. As he came out of the starting gate, his scarred arms and legs showed how close he was to not competing. The previous rider was Arnaud Tournant who set the fastest ever sea-level kilo. Chris came next and, cheered on by thousands of loyal British fans, he bettered the time on each lap, setting a new sea-level World and Olympic Record of 1.00.711. This was the first of his Olympic gold medals, but he suffered disappointment as Great Britain could only finish fifth in the Team Sprint.

Post-2004 Olympics

Angered by the decision to remove his specialist event, the Kilo, from the Olympic programme after the 2004 games, Hoy sought to develop in other events. The first of these was the emerging

event. This event involves between six and eight riders following a small motorbike (the

Derny A Derny is a motorized bicycle for motor-paced cycling events such as during six-day and Keirin racing and motor-paced road races. Some riders train behind a derny on the road. The Derny is so-called as it was originally produced by the Fren ...

) around the 250m track for 5.5 laps, as the bike slowly builds up the speed. The bike pulls off with 2.5 laps to go and the riders race for the line. Hoy attended keirin school in Japan during 2005 and had previously competed at the keirin in various events but one of his first major successes was at the Manchester round of the World Cup Classics Series in 2007, shortly before the World Championships, where he also won, ahead of his teammate

. This showed that Hoy was developing from just a pure power sprinter, in events like the Kilo and Team Sprint, into also being one of the best in the world at more tactical sprinting events such as the keirin and the individual sprint. His success in the new events, however, was still marked by Hoy's ability to generate extraordinary power.

2007 world record attempt

On 12 May 2007, Hoy attempted the world record for the kilometre. He fell 0.005 seconds short, clocking 58.880. He set a record for the 500m flying start at 24.758 seconds, over a second less than the 25.850 set by Arnaud Duble. Hoy set the sea-level kilometre record of 1 minute 0.711 seconds by winning the Olympics in Athens in 2004. The outright record of 58.875 seconds is held by Arnaud Tournant (France), set during 2001 at altitude in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, Bolivia, where Hoy also attempted to break the record. At the time, only 3 sub-60sec kilos had ever been ridden; Hoy recorded two of these over two days in La Paz. Hoy's main achievement is in the individual sprint, considered the blue ribbon event of track cycling. Kilo riders like Hoy have historically not fared as well at this event, as they were less experienced in the tactical elements required for the sprint. Previously, Hoy had competed in the sprint at various

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

events and

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

meetings in Manchester, but it was not one of his main events and he did not compete in it at the World Championships or the Olympics. In the semi-finals Hoy defeated Italian veteran Roberto Chiappa 2–0, to set up a meeting in the final against France's Kévin Sireau. Sireau was the World Cup Classics points winner for the season and had defeated Hoy 2–0 in their previous meeting only a few weeks earlier. However, with the vocal Manchester crowd behind him Hoy was not to be denied victory and he completed the win 2–0, the first British man to win the sprint title in 52 years since Reg Harris.

2008 Olympics

Hoy became the first British male Olympian for 100 years to claim three golds at one games at the

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. This came when he won the men's keirin, the men's team sprint and also the men's individual sprint.

2008/09 season

Hoy did not race at the first major event of the 2009/10 season, the World Cup Classics Event in Manchester on 4 October – 2 November. He instead made an appearance to sign autographs and commentate with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He made his return to racing in the UK at the Revolution 22 event in Manchester in December. He received a standing ovation from the Manchester faithful at the start of the event when he was introduced to the crowd. At this event Hoy won both the Sprint and Keirin competitions, defeating likes of Jason Kenny, Jamie Staff,

, Matthew Crampton and Teun Mulder along the way. Hoy competed in the World Cup Classics series' final event in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark in February, helping his team to a gold medal in the team sprint event. However, he crashed out during the men's Keirin final and was forced to miss the final day of competition, including the men's sprint. Although at first, his injury seemed minor, he returned to Manchester where, following a scan, he was diagnosed with a serious degloving injury which finished his season and kept him off his bike for almost three months. He was unable to compete as planned at the Revolution 24 event in Manchester the following weekend, he did however make an appearance at the event. He had to pull out of the World Championships in Poland at the end of March, where he would have attempted to defend two World titles, because of the hip injury.

2009/10 season

Hoy started the 09/10 track season at the National Cycling Centre, Manchester, at the British National Championships where he took only his second (and third) ever individual national titles. He took gold medals in the Keirin, Sprint and was part of the Team Sprint Team representing team SKY along with Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny. Two weeks later, he raced in round one of the UCI World Cup at the same venue and took gold in the Men's Keirin. He then went into day 2 of the competition and took gold in the sprint event, beating fellow Brit Matthew Crampton in the final 2–0. A third World Cup gold came in the Team Sprint on the Sunday. Having ridden and won 12 events over the weekend, he withdrew from the International Japanese Keirin which was consequently won by Crampton. At the 2010 UCI World Championships, Hoy was beaten in the quarter-final of the men's sprint event by his German opponent, Robert Förstemann, who won after making an attack from the start line. He was part of the GB men's team sprint that took the bronze. In the Keirin event, Hoy won the gold medal, despite crashing in the heats, to take his tenth world title.

2010/11 season

Hoy lost in the first round of the men's sprint at the European Championships to Ireland's Felix English. At the Manchester World Cup event in February 2011, Hoy lost in the semi-finals to Jason Kenny. Hoy took the match sprint title at the British National Championships in October 2011.

2011/12 track season

At the 2012 World Cup event held in the new London Velodrome, Hoy won three medals. He won gold in the keirin and bronze in the team sprint, before winning gold in the Men's Sprint, losing just one race in four rounds.

2012 Olympics

Hoy was an ambassador for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. Hoy led

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. ...

out as the team's flag carrier at the opening ceremony. He then went on to win gold in the team sprint with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes, setting a new world record in the

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

and becoming

's joint gold record holder with Sir Steve Redgrave's tally of five gold medals with a total of six medals (5 gold, 1 silver). On 7 August 2012, Hoy won gold in the Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave and become the most successful British Olympian ever, winning a total of 6 gold medals. This also made him the joint holder of most medals won by any British athlete in the Olympic Games with fellow cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins and Jason Kenny.

Retirement

On 18 April 2013, Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling. He said he was very proud to have taken part in the transformation of the sport. Since retiring, Hoy has been a regular pundit for BBC coverage of cycling events. The include three

: Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022, and three

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

: Rio 2016,

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and Paris 2024.

Motorsport career

Hoy's interest in motorsport competition led him to contest the inaugural season of the

Radical Sportscars Radical Motorsport Limited, also known as Radical Sportscars, is a British manufacturer and constructor of racing cars. The company was founded in January 1997 by amateur drivers and engineers Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott, who built open cockpit s ...

SR1 Cup, scooping his first motorsport podium at Snetterton in the same season. Hoy has since contested selected rounds of the Radical SR3 Challenge and Radical European Masters in Radical's SR3 RS and SR8 RX open sportscars. On 8 April 2014 it was announced that Hoy would be joining the British GT championship driving a

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

GT-R Nismo GT3 with a view to competing in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

in 2016. Hoy took his first victory in international competition at the opening round of the 2015 European Le Mans Series at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

where he drove a Ginetta-Nissan to a class win alongside team-mate Charlie Robertson. The pairing took another two wins in the series' LMP3 class, including at the penultimate round at

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ...

, which clinched them the class title with a round to spare. He subsequently competed at the 2015 Race of Champions at the

London Olympic Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...

, receiving a late invitation to race as part of Team All Stars in the Nations Cup alongside Romain Grosjean as a replacement for

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three List of 500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions, MotoGP World Championships ...

after the motorcyclist suffered leg burns as a result of post-race celebrations on his motorbike when he clinched that season's

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

title. However Hoy and Grosjean were knocked out in the first round by the Young Stars team of Pascal Wehrlein and

Jolyon Palmer Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Since retiring from racing, Palmer has been a pundit for the BBC, Channel 4 and F1TV. Prior to ...

. In March 2016 it was confirmed that Hoy would be entered for the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours, sharing a Ligier JS P2-Nissan with Andrea Pizzitola and Michael Munemann. He was the first Summer Olympic medallist to compete at Le Mans, the ninth former Olympian to race there and the second Olympic champion to do so, after alpine skier Henri Oreiller. Hoy and his team-mates finished the race in 17th overall and 12th in class.

Complete British GT Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Le Mans Series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

24 Hours of Silverstone results

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

( key)

Supercar

Hoy Bikes

Hoy unveiled the brand which bears his name in November 2012, three months after winning the double Olympic gold in London. The debut range included three road bikes and four city bikes, as well as a track bike. It was later extended by several other designs, including bicycles for children.

Personal life and illness

Hoy is married to Sarra Kemp, Lady Hoy, a lawyer from Edinburgh. They were married in 2010 at

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

, Edinburgh. They have two children, a son and a daughter. Hoy's autobiography was published in 2009. Hoy's first two children's fiction books, about a young cyclist called Flying Fergus, were published in 2016. In 2020, Hoy published another children's book titled ''Be Amazing''. In April 2013, Hoy accepted the appointment of ambassador to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets and assumed the rank of Honorary

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

RAFVR(T). He has since relinquished this role. In 2013, Hoy was appointed as an ambassador for UNICEF UK, having been an International Inspiration ambassador for

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

since 2009. Hoy has been Ambassador for the Scottish Association for Mental Health since 2009. In that time he has devoted many hours to raising awareness of, and funds for, the mental health cause. In December 2016 and December 2017, Hoy supported the Scottish social enterprise Social Bite by sleeping out at their ''Sleep in the Park'' events to raise money for homeless people. Hoy is a supporter of

rugby and has presented the match ball before selected games at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotla ...

. In September 2023, Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4

, after complaining of a pain in his shoulder. News of his condition was made public on 16 February 2024, but no details were given and it was announced that Hoy was undergoing

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. In October 2024, he made public the nature and severity of the disease, that it had spread to his bones and was now terminal. He said that he had been given between two and four years to live.

Medal history

;

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

– Team sprint *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

– Team sprint *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

– Team sprint *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

– 1 km time trial; Team sprint *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

– Team sprint *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

– 1 km time trial; Team sprint *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

– Team sprint; 1 km time trial *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

– 1 km time trial; Team sprint *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

– Keirin; 1 km time trial; Team sprint *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

– Sprint; Keirin; Team sprint *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

– Keirin; Team sprint *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

– Keirin; Team sprint; Sprint *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

– Keirin; Sprint ; Olympic Games *

– Team sprint (with Craig MacLean and

) *

– 1 km Track time trial *

– Team sprint (with Jason Kenny and Jamie Staff);

Keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...

; Sprint *

– Team sprint (with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes);

; Track Cycling World Ranking * 2009–10 – 3rd Keirin * 2010–11 – 2nd Keirin, 3rd Team sprint *2011–12 – 1st Keirin ; Commonwealth Games *

– 1 km time trial; Team sprint (with Craig MacLean and

) *

– Team sprint (with Craig MacLean and

); 1 km time trial ; Special awards *2003, 2008 – BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year *2008 –

*2014 – BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

Honours

*2005: Honorary Doctor of Science,

*2005: Appointed a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) "for services to cycling" in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. *2005: Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

*2008: Sportsman of the Year, elected by the Sports Journalists' Association, winning a ballot of its membership ahead of Formula One world champion

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

and Olympic sailor

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British sailing (sport), competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four ...

. *2008:

. He finished ahead of

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

world champion

and Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington. Hoy became the second cyclist ever to win the award after Tom Simpson in 1965. *2009: Honorary Doctor of Science,

*2009: Appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

"for services to Sport". *2009: Inducted to the

's Sports Hall of Fame. *2009: Train operating company SouthEastern named a high-speed Class 395 train after him. *2009: The Edinburgh Award. *2012: The

Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badminto ...

, built for the Glasgow

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

, is named in his honour. *2013: Honorary

RAFAC, Ambassador to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. *23 August 2013: Freedom of the City of

Bibliography

Non-fiction

*''Chris Hoy: the Autobiography'' (2009, HarperCollins) * * All that matters (2024, Hodder & Stoughton) ISBN 9781399741842

Children's fiction

*''Flying Fergus 2: The Great Cycle Challenge'' (2016, Bonnier Publishing Fiction);

References

External links

* * * * *
archive
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoy, Chris 1976 births Living people 21st-century Scottish autobiographers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24H Series drivers Algarve Pro Racing drivers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Britcar 24-hour drivers British BMX riders British GT Championship drivers British male cyclists British track cyclists Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists awarded knighthoods European Le Mans Series drivers International GT Open drivers Knights Bachelor Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Members of the Order of the British Empire Multimatic Motorsports drivers Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medalists in cycling Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in cycling People educated at George Watson's College Royal Air Force officers holding honorary commissions Scottish autobiographers Scottish businesspeople Scottish children's writers Scottish male cyclists Scottish Olympic competitors Scottish racing drivers Scottish track cyclists Cyclists from Edinburgh Sports scientists UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) United Autosports drivers World Rallycross Championship drivers 21st-century Scottish sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cycling Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling

Early life

Early cycling career

Olympics

2000 Sydney Olympics

2004 Olympics: Athens

Post-2004 Olympics

2007 world record attempt

2008 Olympics

2008/09 season

2009/10 season

2010/11 season

2011/12 track season

2012 Olympics

Retirement

Motorsport career

Complete British GT Championship results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

24 Hours of Silverstone results

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

Hoy Bikes

Personal life and illness

Medal history

Honours

Bibliography

Non-fiction

Children's fiction

See also

References

Further reading

External links