Olympic legend announces cancer diagnosis

Sir Chris Hoy said he was “doing well” after revealing he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

The 47-year-old Olympic legend, who won six gold medals for Team Britain during his prestigious track cycling career, announced his diagnosis on social media on Friday evening, saying he had hoped to keep his illness a secret until he was “forced to do so”.

In a statement, he said: “I have news. I was diagnosed with cancer last year, which was a huge shock as I had not shown any symptoms up until then.

“I am currently undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy, and fortunately everything is going very well. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the medical professionals for their great help and care.

“For the sake of my young family, I wanted to keep this information secret, but unfortunately we were forced to do so. Although I am grateful for any support, I would like to settle the matter privately.

“My heart goes out to the many others who are going through similar challenges right now.”

Hoy is the second most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time and has also won eleven world titles and two gold medals for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.

A former winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, he was knighted in 2009.

Despite his diagnosis, Hoy has told supporters that he continues to cycle and live a “normal” life and that he has “an exciting year” ahead of him.

He continued: “I am optimistic, positive and surrounded by love, which I am truly grateful for. As you can imagine, the last few months have been incredibly difficult.

“But for now I’m fine – I’m still working, cycling and living my life as normal.

“We have an exciting year of work ahead of us, not least with the Olympic Games in Paris in July. I can’t wait to get started, have fun and share it with you all.”