Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra both received terrifying news within a short time of each other, but the couple have been inspirational since their diagnoses
Kasra Moradi Senior Sports Journalist
08:30, 26 Oct 2025Updated 08:52, 26 Oct 2025
Sir Chris Hoy’s wife Lady Sarra was ‘selfless’ following his prostate cancer diagnosis(Image: PA)
Just over two years have passed since Sir Chris Hoy received the life-changing news he had cancer. Doctors initially discovered a tumour after the legendary Scottish cyclist experienced pain in his shoulder and ribs, after which scans revealed primary cancer in his prostate had spread to his bones.
Team GB icon Hoy, 49, announced a year later the cancer had reached stage four and that his condition was terminal, with doctors giving him two to four years to live. The devastating news was compounded by even more tragedy just days after his diagnosis, when his wife, Sarra, went for a routine MRI Scan after suffering a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.
Sir Chris explained last year that Lady Hoy, who he met in 2006 before getting married four years later, had joked it was “a chance for her to have a lie down for an hour” and “as close to a spa day as she’d get”. Hoy said she continued to support him “wholly and completely” after her scan – and he thought no more of it, as her symptoms disappeared.
That was until Sarra, just before Christmas 2023, broke the news to the six-time Olympic gold medallist that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He said: “I realised immediately it was something big as Sarra, always so strong in every situation, was beginning to crumble and struggling to get the words out.
“‘Do you remember that scan I went for?’ she started saying through tear-filled eyes. ‘Well, they think it might be multiple sclerosis’. I immediately broke down, distraught both by the news and the fact she’d received it without me there.”
READ MORE: Sir Chris Hoy cancer latest – heartbreaking message from doctors, tumours that broke his backREAD MORE: Sir Chris Hoy issues new health update as he makes admission about Andy Murray
Hoy was stunned at Sarra’s selfless decision to keep the news to herself, saying: “She went on to explain they had called her and told her over a month before. It was so hard to try to compute that she had absorbed the awfulness of this diagnosis alone, without sharing it with me, in order to protect me.
“I tried to let the words sink in as my mind was spinning, trying to understand what had been happening to her, all while she had been accompanying me to every one of my own hospital appointments.
“As with my diagnosis, she was the one to bring me back to the present, trying to reassure me, saying: ‘Look at me, I’m fine right now, I’m here, I’m OK’.”
MS is a chronic condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and cannot be cured, but medicines and other treatments can help alleviate symptoms that include extreme tiredness, vision problems and difficulty with walking or balance
The couple have endured an unthinkable two years(Image: Bryn Lennon / Getty)
However, despite facing these monumental challenges, the couple continue to seize life with both hands, achieving remarkable things since their world was turned upside down.
Hoy has devoted his time and effort to promoting awareness of prostate cancer and generating funds for cancer charities. Since announcing his diagnosis publicly, he has contributed to a staggering increase in men seeking guidance about the condition, with the NHS now diagnosing more men with prostate cancer at earlier stages than ever before.
Additionally, his recent fundraising cycling endeavour Tour de 4 has raised more than twice its £1 million target for cancer charities across the UK.
As for his own health, Hoy provided a brief update on living with terminal cancer during a BBC Breakfast appearance in early September, telling presenter Charlie Stayt: “I’m doing pretty well, thanks. Everything is stable at the moment, I had a bit of radiotherapy a few weeks ago. Feeling alright! Just getting on with it.”
While he is still undergoing “constant treatment”, Hoy says his condition is no longer the first thing on his mind each morning. Earlier this year, he told Sky Sports News that he had reached “a bit of a stability stage” and is currently “appreciating life more than ever”.
Chris and Sarra continue to help others by spreading awareness and raising money for charity(Image: PA)
“I’m doing well,” he said in May. “It feels like I’ve entered a bit of a stability stage at the moment and I’m feeling good, exercising, riding a bike, busy. Most importantly cancer’s not the first thing I think about in the morning when I wake up and it’s not the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. I think we’ve got into a rhythm now where it’s part of our lives and we manage that and crack on.
“It feels like it’s been one of the busiest periods of my life, the last few months, just doing everything: fun stuff, family stuff, work, travel. I feel good. I’m on constant medications, constant treatment, but it’s not interfering too much with my life and the most important thing is it’s working, so I’m stable at the moment, everything’s good. Making hay while the sun shines.
“I can’t believe the position I’m in now compared to 18 months ago,” Hoy added. “I never imagined I’d be able to get to this point where I’m actually living life. And not just living life, but actually appreciating it more than ever and able to enjoy the little things. It’s not just about doing bucket-list stuff and doing massive things, it’s about appreciating the daily, mundane fun of life.”
Sarra continues to support his endeavours, such as Tour de 4, also inspiring others while grappling with MS. In recent months, she enjoyed a trip to Italy, holidayed in Scotland and surprised her husband with their two children at Silverstone.