Olympic gold medallist Marchant announces retirement

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OLYMPIC gold medallist Katy Marchant has announced her retirement from elite cycling.

The 33-year-old mum of two walks away as a reigning Olympic champion in the women’s team sprint after taking gold alongside Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell in Paris in 2024, the same year she also won world and European titles.

“I’ve achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of achieving,” Marchant said in announcing her decision only a few months after stating a goal of racing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“It just feels really strange. It’s not been a difficult decision. Don’t get me wrong, there’s been moments where I’ve thought, ‘could I just, should I just, what if I just?’ But I know what it takes to push on for another two years.

“I’m incredibly proud of where I’ve got to and what I’ve done. I just don’t want to make those choices anymore to keep doing what it takes to get to LA.”

Marchant competed in Paris two years after welcoming her first son Arthur, and in January this year returned to competition at the British Track Championships six months after the birth of Walter.

In the build up to this summer’s Commonwealth Games, Marchant outlined a goal of racing in Los Angeles, but after the Leeds-born rider helped England to team sprint silver in Glasgow it all changed.

“I had a day off after two pretty successful days racing,” she said. “And I just had this funny feeling.”

Marchant spoke to her husband Rob before returning for the final races of the Commonwealth programme, finishing fifth in the Keirin, and then took her time to reach a final decision.

“I never wanted to walk away from this sport because I had to, because I felt like I’d overstayed my welcome or physically I wasn’t capable anymore,” she added. “I’ve written the story for the last 13 years and I wanted it to finish it the way I wanted to finish.”

The team sprint gold in Paris was Marchant’s second Olympic medal after individual sprint bronze on debut in Rio in 2016.

As well her titles from 2024, Marchant has two world bronze medals and two European silver medals, also winning team sprint bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, though her achievements cannot solely be reflected in a list of results.

While Marchant followed the likes of Dame Laura Kenny, Dame Sarah Storey and Lizzie Deignan in returning to elite racing after becoming a mum, she was the first to do it in track sprinting which places different demands on the body.

For several years she was the sole senior women’s sprinter in the Great Britain squad, competing alone in Tokyo, and deserves much credit for nurturing her young team-mates on their road to glory in Paris.

“There’s a small part of me that’s a little bit sad I’m not going to be part of that anymore, but at the same time I carry a lot of pride that I helped build that…” Marchant said.

“I’m incredibly proud that I got to do those things and hopefully pave the way not just for cyclists, but also mums in sport to be able to achieve that.”