Sir Chris Hoy MBE, multiple world and Olympic champion track cyclist, was born and raised in Edinburgh. He is one of Great Britain’s most successful Olympic athletes, with six gold medals and one silver.
Chris won his first Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 in the Kilo – an event that was dropped from the programme for Beijing 2008. Chris took this in his stride and switched his focus to three other track sprint events – the Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint. He went on to win a gold medal in all three at the Beijing Olympics, cementing his name in the history books.
Following his historic hat-trick of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Chris was voted 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He was also awarded a Knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours list, capping an extraordinary year for the track cyclist from Edinburgh.
In 2012 at his home Olympic Games in London, Chris won his fifth and sixth gold medals – in the Keirin and Team Sprint – becoming Great Britain’s most successful Olympic athlete of all time with six gold medals and one silver.
As well as his sporting achievements, Chris has a BSc Honours in Applied Sports Science from the University of Edinburgh. In 2005 he was awarded two Honorary Doctorates – one from the University of Edinburgh and another from Heriot-Watt University. He was also awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of St Andrews.
Chris retired from competitive cycling in 2013 and his achievements throughout his career make him Scotland’s most successful Olympian, the first Briton since 1908 to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games, and one of the most successful Olympic male cyclists of all time.