The former cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, 33, has won five Olympic gold medals and one silver. In 2016, she became the first British woman to win four Olympic titles. She was made a dame in 2022 and retired in 2024. She is married to former cyclist Sir Jason Kenny. They have three children and live in Cheshire.
The Olympics 2028? I’m well past my sell-by date. I don’t think I would come out of retirement. Every now and again I do think, could I? People do. But I’ve never had that feeling of it being unfinished.
Speaking about baby loss wasn’t easy. But it might have helped someone else. After the Tokyo Olympics, we lost two babies. So many athletes came to me saying they’d been in the same boat. Does what we put our bodies through take a toll on whether or not we can fall pregnant? I don’t know. More people are now aware of training around a woman’s cycle — it’s definitely got better.
No one asks the dad if they’re all right. I think Jason really struggled and still does. He can’t really talk about it, even to this day. He will say it didn’t happen to him — it was my body going through it. But the emotional effect happens to both of you.
The Kennys after receiving their knighthood and damehood, May 2022AFP
Everything was developed around men and how they use a saddle. My saddle sore was really bad. The skin was split. I went to our doctor and said, “I don’t think the pain that I’m experiencing is normal.” Just because most female bike riders have it, this doesn’t make it normal. It just means that we’re not doing anything about it. It was unpleasant, but I was pushing through it because I had to ride my bike. We had some funding to work on a saddle and the pad in the cycling shorts in 2014, but before that nobody had really looked into it for women.
What a role model Keely Hodgkinson is for my baby girl. She’s not afraid to put her opinion across. She clearly loves fashion and make-up and she’s not scared to say so.
When our second little boy came, I didn’t want anyone else to look after him. I had longed for this little boy for so long. Trying to conceive was hell. Getting the damehood was everything that I could have ever hoped for in my career, and so it felt like a really natural ending. I wanted to be at home with my children.
The couple sitting behind David Beckham at the Olympic beach volleyball in 2012Getty images
After winning Olympic gold (and setting a new world record) in the women’s team pursuit at the London OlympicsGetty images
Adam Peaty is one to watch at the Olympics. He’s got longevity. [Cyclists] Matthew Richardson and Emma Finucane are incredible athletes and they’ll both do three events, so there’s a chance that they could win more than one.
We won the Olympics, but it was like we’d won The X Factor. Because the London 2012 Olympics were really unique — everyone watched them, not just a few sports fans. It was overnight fame. The night before, everything was private in our life. You would never think that we’d both win both our events. We were really lucky because social media wasn’t as massive as it is now, so Jason and I could make mistakes, be silly, go out and celebrate without photos being plastered everywhere.
Prince William said, ‘I’m really sorry to hear what your family is going through with baby loss.’ It meant a lot to me that he brought it up, because it’s not spoken about. We have to talk about these things more. As an athlete, I felt like my body had failed. It’s such a lonely place to be when you’re going through it.
Winning gold at the Olympics Rio de Janeiro, 2016Getty images
I was sick at Bradley Wiggins’s feet. That is one of the most embarrassing things that has happened to me.
So many women stop breastfeeding because it’s hard to do it when you’re out. I was asked if I could go to the toilet to feed Albie and whether feeding him at the table was appropriate. That wound me up.
I won the Commonwealth Games right after having an ectopic pregnancy. The ectopic pregnancy was one of the scariest things I’ve had to go through. It’s traumatic.
Me and running are not compatible. I would not even say that I have been training for my marathon [she is running the TCS London Marathon for the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust]. It’s been a nightmare. The pain I’ve been in. I’m probably going to “run, walk, run” the entire thing. There’s no shame in that — I’m doing it for a great cause.
I’m yin and Jason is yang. I’m outgoing — I’ll speak to anyone. Jason is the opposite.
The London Marathon is on Sunday, April 26. Coverage on BBC1 from 8.30am