We now know that for the past year Sir Chris Hoy has been living with a devastating secret: that his cancer diagnosis revealed in February was terminal.
READ MORE:Few athletes exuded such an air of invincibility as Sir Chris Hoy . His physical prowess on the saddle, winning him six Olympic cycling golds, made him seem almost superhuman.
Read More Easy-to-miss signs of prostate cancer you should NEVER ignore as Sir Chris Hoy reveals diagnosis The random cruelty of fate, though, had not yet runs its course. Just before Christmas, his wife Sarra, 40, learned she has a 'very active and aggressive type of multiple sclerosis', which was degenerative and incurable, after experiencing a tingling sensation in her face and tongue and undergoing a scan; on bad days she can struggle to open the front door with her key.
Fellow Olympic cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish called him a 'hero of a human being'. Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson said his 'legacy was second to none' and British Winter Olympic champion Amy Williams wrote: 'A pure superhuman who everyone loves.' While the children know their father has cancer, Hoy and his wife have kept the fact their mother has MS from them.
The last chapter he says 'is basically where I'm writing to the kids. You know my message to them. You know, my final message to them. At the Paris Olympics, when he was back on our TV screens again, he looked as fresh-faced and youthful as ever. His colleagues at the BBC and the cycling fraternity, who knew he had been ill, were delighted to see him again which was 'heartwarming', he says.
'As unnatural as it feels, this is nature,' he reflected in his Sunday Times interview. 'You know, we were all born and we will all die, and this is just part of the process. 'You remind yourself that aren't I lucky that there is medicine I can take that will fend this off for as long as possible ... this is bigger than the Olympics. It's bigger than anything. This is about appreciating life and finding joy.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was treated for cancer in 2021, told Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday show: ‘He is such an inspirational guy and I thought that was particularly true in the way he talked about his terminal cancer diagnosis today. I think to have two to four years potentially left to live and yet to maintain that optimism and positivity that has characterised his life and career is actually remarkable.
Former Olympic rower James Cracknell said he was not surprised at Sir Chris’s determination in the face of his diagnosis, saying: ‘As Olympic champion his event got cut from the schedule. He refocused, didn’t complain, mastered different events and won five more gold medals.’
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