Is this you? Or do you exclusively represent this speaker?

Chris Hoy

UK’s most successful Olympian and BBC sports personality

About

Gender: Male
Nationality:
Languages: English
Travels from: United Kingdom

Engagement Types

Speakers FAQ

Biography Highlights

  • An exceptional sportsman, Sir Chris Hoy understands the importance of hard work and perseverance. His down-to-earth and approachable style inspires audiences of all kinds.

Biography

Chris Hoy’s Background

Chris’s passion for cycling started from a young age he followed his ambitions to achieve success in the field.

  • Six times Olympic Gold winner
  • Eleven times World Champion
  • Knighted in 2009
  • BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 2008

Sir Chris has long been one of the world’s best known cyclists. In 2012 he found another place in the record books as Team GBs most successful Olympian with six gold medals and one silver. His passion for cycling started from a young age he followed his ambitions to achieve success in the field.

Early Potential

Sir Chris was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 23rd of March 1976. He was a keen cyclist from a young age and took up BMX riding after watching the science fiction movie E.T. and being inspired by the flying bikes. His skill developed and he often competed internationally in BMX races until the age of 14 when he moved on to track racing. He joined the City of

Edinburgh Racing Club in 1994

Hoy initially attended St Andrews University but ended up graduating from the University of Edinburgh. He achieved a B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Sport Science in keeping with his keen interest in sport (he had also enjoyed both rowing and rugby at school).

Cycling to Success

Whilst at the City of Edinburgh Racing Club, Hoy worked on his team sprint and time-trial skills and his performance went from strength to strength. In 1999, his team came second in the World Championship and, in Copenhagen 2002, they won the World Title. Hoy was also still competing in time trials and in 2002 he won the kilometre trial.

The one kilometre time trial was one of Hoy’s favourite competitions and he won the World Title in this competition in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he achieved his first Olympic Title winning this event. After the games in Athens it was decided that the trial should no longer be part of the Olympic schedule and Hoy decided to try other events, wanting to continue to compete at the Olympics.

Post One Kilometre Time Trails

Keirin interested Hoy and he soon made a name for himself in the event. In 2007 in Manchester, he won the World Cup Series and later went on to win gold at the World Championships.

A True Olympian

In the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Hoy’s success became legendary. He became the first British competitor in a century to win three gold medals at a single Olympic games. In order to achieve this he won the men’s individual sprint, the men’s keirin and, along with his team, the men’s team sprint.

After Beijing

Later in 2008, Hoy won both the sprint and the keirin events at Manchester’s Revolution 22. He went on to compete in the World Cup Classics event in Copenhagen in February 2009, where his team won gold in the sprint. Unfortunately, a crash in the men’s keirin competition saw Hoy spend the three following months without cycling.

By the 2009/2010 track season, Hoy had recovered from his injury and was back competing again. During the British National Championships he achieved gold in the sprint, keirin and the team sprint. He won gold in men’s keirin, sprint and team sprint again just a fortnight later, at the UCI World Cup. In the 2010 competitions, Hoy got off to a poor start, with his team gaining bronze in the team sprint at the UCI World Championships. In the keirin, however, Hoy managed to overcome an earlier crash in order to win gold.

Hoy’s next win came at the British National Championships in October 2011, where he took the sprint title. At the 2012 World Cup event at the Olympic Velodrome in London, Hoy won gold in the keirin and the men’s sprint. His team achieved a bronze in the team sprint. It seemed Hoy was on top form and headed to Olympic stardom once again.

London 2012

As a former Olympic gold medallist and a cycling legend, Chris Hoy was a natural choice to be flag bearer for Team GB at the opening ceremony.

As participants in the Games, Hoy and team mates Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes won gold in the team sprint. Hoy then won gold in the keirin. This achievement allowed Hoy to become British Olympic record holder, with six gold medals.

Personal Life

Chris Hoy lives in Salford with his wife Sarra. He enjoys sports of many kinds and supports Heart of Midlothian football team.

Hoy was awarded an MBE in 2005 for services to cycling and was awarded a knighthood in 2009. He has honorary doctorates from both the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, both of which were presented to him in 2005. In recognition of his speed, Hoy also has a SouthEastern high speed train named after him.

Following his success at London 2012, Hoy will join the likes of Nelson Mandela and Sean Connery and be awarded freedom of the City of Edinburgh.

 

 

Videos

Topics

Available: Virtually

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Check our privacy policy for more details.