Olympic Champion Katy Marchant Announces Retirement From Cycling

British Olympic champion Katy Marchant has announced her retirement from cycling at the age of 33, ending a 13-year career.

Marchant was part of the women’s team sprint trio that won Britain’s first Olympic gold in the event at the Paris 2024 Games. In the same year, she also won World and European titles, adding to the individual sprint bronze she claimed on her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016.

She had considered continuing to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, but her career finished with a silver medal at this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

“I’ve achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of achieving,” Marchant said. “It feels really strange. It’s not been a difficult decision.

“Don’t get me wrong, there have 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.”

Leeds-born Marchant was a British junior heptathlete before a coach noticed her impressive times on a static bike and persuaded her to switch to cycling in 2013.

In 2024, she became the first track sprinter to return to elite competition after becoming a mother. Two years after the birth of her first child, she won Olympic, World and European titles before a crash required operations on her arm and kept her out of racing for 12 months.

She returned to the track in January this year, six months after the birth of her second child, and then won Commonwealth team sprint silver alongside Rhianna Parris-Smith and Sophie Capewell in July.

Having previously spoken about targeting LA 2028, Marchant told BBC Breakfast she was now looking forward to “a little bit of freedom”.

“I’m actually enjoying the time at the minute to be able to reflect on my journey – something we don’t do enough when we’re in it,” she said.

“I’m a farmer’s wife, so there could be a bit of that. I have a small cake business that could grow, there is potential. And I’m addicted to high performance and I absolutely love sports. So that might be my path going forward. But I really, really don’t know.

“I had a good work-life balance, but I’ve been enjoying not having to focus on the amount of protein you’re eating every day. I’m feeling a little bit freer.

“I’ve been able to do the school drop-offs, been able to do the swimming lessons, things like that, things that I haven’t massively been able to do so much.

“I’m really enjoying just being me.”