Sir Andy Murray has told how he lets his children run around the house wearing his Olympic gold medals.
The Scottish tennis star said he was initially very protective of the gongs, which he was awarded after winning the men’s singles at the 2012 and 2016 games, adding that they were kept in a cabinet at his Surrey mansion along with other trophies from his glittering career.
However, he said his four children now regularly took the medals out to play with them, and he was no longer bothered if the honours were damaged.
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Murray, 38, who is also a double Wimbledon champion, winning there in 2013 and 2016, said he did draw the line, though, at allowing one of his children to take a medal to school as part of a project.
“My kids wear the Olympic medals,” he told The Tennis Podcast. “I was quite precious about them at the beginning but now I’m just like, it’s fine, scratch them up and stuff, whatever.
“One of them wanted to take one of them into school. They were doing something at school and we were like, ‘No it’s a bit much to send them in with one of them.’ So I gave them my Beijing Olympics participation medal instead, which they were happy with.”
Murray won his first gold medal for Team GB after defeating Roger Federer in the final at the 2012 London Olympics. He repeated the achievement in Rio four years later with a win over Juan Martín del Potro.
Murray won his second Olympic gold medal for Team GB in Rio in 2016
REUTERS
One of the medals was recently returned to him after being on loan to the Wimbledon museum for an exhibition on his career.
He and his wife, Kim, have three daughters, Sophia, nine, Edie, eight, and Lola, four, and a six-year-old son, Teddy.
Murray, who also won the US Open in 2012 and reached eight other grand slam finals, retired from the sport after reaching the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the Olympics in Paris last year.
Often associated with his deadpan delivery, Murray has, especially since retirement, shown a different side to his character, appearing in television adverts that have shown off his sense of humour.
Albert Bartlett, the potato supplier, launched its advertising campaign, entitled Bring Out Your Best Side, with the tennis ace in October, the brand stating that Murray brought his “trademark charm and humour” to the project.
“Working with the Albert Bartlett team was great fun and I actually picked up a few cooking skills along the way. Now that I’m at home more, I think those tips will come in handy. My wife’s pretty excited about that too,” Murray said.
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He also donned a bespoke Christmas jumper, adorned with images of shortbread, for adverts as part of his new role as brand ambassador for the Scottish company Walker’s. The campaign was said to be designed to “inspire holiday cheer”.
Following his retirement, Murray has also spoken of his plans to spend more time playing golf, an interest he has had since his youth, adding he hoped also to become a caddie, possibly for “a professional golfer at some stage”.
“Well, I love golf, and I think if you love that sport, I think it would be a great job,” he said last month.
He said he spent more time on the course since retiring, often enjoying rounds after dropping off his children at school. It was also announced in May that Murray had joined Redrice Ventures, a venture capital company, as an associate partner.