Chris Hoy - Speaker

Sir Chris Hoy, a multiple world and Olympic champion track cyclist, was born and raised in Edinburgh. He represented Great Britain and Scotland, winning four Olympic, 11 world, and two Commonwealth titles.

Inspired by a scene in the film “E.T.,” Chris began cycling and quickly reached the top ten in BMX. He also medalled at the Scottish Junior Rowing Championships. His success in cycling coincided with the rise of the sport in his nation.

Chris won his first Olympic medal in the team sprint at the Sydney Games. He then focused on the kilometre time trial, winning world titles in 2002 and 2004 and gold at the Athens Olympics. When the kilometre was removed from the Olympic programme for 2008, he transitioned to other track sprint events. This change led to a remarkable performance at the Beijing Olympics, where he won three gold medals, marking the best track cycling achievement at a single Olympics since 1904. He received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in the 2009 New Year Honours List and was named his nation’s sports person of the year for his accomplishments.

Chris retained his team sprint and keirin titles at the 2012 London Olympics, where he served as the Great Britain flagbearer, becoming the most successful Olympic cyclist in history with six gold medals. Jason Kenny later equalled his record at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After 2012, Chris shared the overall cycling medal record of seven with Bradley Wiggins, who later won an eighth medal in 2016. His world championship achievements include 11 gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals from 1999 to 2012, and he uniquely won titles in all four sprinting disciplines. The velodrome built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is named in his honour.

Chris retired from competitive cycling in 2013, promoting his cycling range and writing a series of children’s books titled Flying Fergus. In June 2016, he completed the Le Mans 24-Hour motor race and contributed to BBC commentary for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2016 Rio Olympics.