Sir Chris Hoy: Having kids has been the biggest part of my retirement

After a cycling career laden with gold medals, Chris Hoy has settled into a life more ordinary – where a happy, healthy family is the greatest prize, writes Hannah Stephenson

For many years, Sir Chris Hoy – six-time Olympic Gold medallist and 11-time world champion – was driven by winning the next gold medal in the sport he loves.

That all changed with the birth of his son, Callum, back in 2014. Callum was born 11 weeks prematurely, weighing just 2lb 2oz.

“It definitely changed my perspective. Regardless of whether you have a premature child or not, when you have children your perspective changes on everything. Things that you used to get stressed about are so irrelevant,” the amiable Scot says now.

“As long as your family and kids are healthy and happy, everything else fits in around it. You used to spend time worrying how fast you could ride a bike around a track. That seems really trivial now. Winning gold medals was the most important thing in my life – and now it’s not.

“Having watched Callum grow from this tiny little thing to this strong four-year-old who’s running about, riding bikes, having fun, you are especially grateful for what you’ve got.”

Edinburgh-born Hoy, 42, and his wife Sarra, a lawyer, now have two children - Callum and 18-month-old Chloe. But he will never forget those early days after his son’s birth.

“It was a very difficult time,” he says now. “Sarra was a bit unwell. She went for a check-up, they kept her in and then said, ‘We’re going to have to deliver the baby’. She was barely even showing a bump at that point, so it was pretty scary.

“Initially, he was 2lbs 2oz, a tiny little thing that you could hold in one hand. When I look at him now at bath-time, when his feet are at the taps and his head’s at the far end, I remember when he used to fit into my hand.

“It’s a nice end to the story for us, but not every family gets to come home with the baby.”

It’s clear that family has filled the void that is so often left when athletes and sportspeople retire from competition, although Hoy has remained as busy as ever since his retirement in 2013.

He set up his bike company HOY Bikes, collaborated with charity partners and businesses and also started racing cars, entering the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 2016.