Five-time gold medal winner Laura Kenny is targeting her fourth Olympics next year after the birth of her second child this summer.
Kenny, who has topped the podium in London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, has her eyes set on Paris as she is keen to prove motherhood is no reason to end her career after the arrival of their second son Monty in July.
“I obviously want to compete at the next Olympics. I know everyone thinks I’m absolutely mad in saying that, but if I don’t try, I’ll never know,” she told The Journey, the Team GB and Toyota docuseries.
“I would hate to be sat here thinking, ‘Well, I never even gave it a go to see if I could make it.’
“I hope both children see their mum as someone who was determined to make both things work.
“They will never have the burden of thinking, ‘Oh, mum had me and then ended her career.’ Because I didn’t. I carried on; I made it work.
I obviously want to compete at the next Olympics. I know everyone thinks I’m absolutely mad in saying that, but if I don’t try, I’ll never know— Laura Kenny
“I hope they look back and they can see that, and see that from the day they were born, they were part of the journey.
“The two different comebacks between Albie and Monty have been so different.
“With Albie I came back feeling like I had a point to prove, that you could be a mum and be an Olympic champion all at the same time.
“I think this time, I’ve come back for me. I’ve come back because I love riding my bike and I cannot imagine it not being part of my life.”
Kenny gave birth to Albie in 2017 and after a miscarriage in 2021 and ectopic pregnancy early in 2022 she and husband Jason – a fellow Olympic champion cyclist – had a second son, Monty, in July this year.
“Having the ectopic was way worse than the miscarriage,” she added.
“It all happened so fast. I went to hospital thinking I had severe Covid and left just like ‘What the hell?’ having had a major operation when I didn’t know I was pregnant.
“It was all terrifying really. I struggled massively mentally after everything that we went through, and I’d say I probably wasn’t truly happy until I fell pregnant with Monty.”
