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SUMMEROFSPORT
‘WOMENINSPORT
AREHAVING
AMOMENT!’
OLYMPICCYCLIST LAURAKENNY TELLS
OK!’SCLAREFISHERABOUTFAMILYTHE
LIONESSESANDTAKINGONTOKYO
A
lthough she may be tired
after a ‘night shift’ with her
23-month-old son Albert,
who is ‘not sleeping’, Olympic
cyclist Laura Kenny isn’t showing it.
Laura, 27, became famous for her
sunny demeanour during her incredible
achievements at London 2012, and she
is just as enthusiastic and down to earth
in our interview. ‘Me and Jason are really,
really normal, average people,’ she says
of her and husband of nearly three years,
fellow Olympic cyclist Jason Kenny.
The year after their wedding, the
couple welcomed baby Albert, who
they call Albie. With such strong
sporting genes – Laura and Jason
boast ten Olympic gold medals
between them – is Albie a future
Olympian, too? ‘He can do a forward
roll, you just have to ask him and over
he goes!’ laughs a besotted Laura,
who says she’d already have another
baby if the Olympic schedule allowed.
Here, Laura opens up about
expanding her family, next year’s
Tokyo Olympics and why
now is the moment for
women in sport...
Were you gutted to
have to pull out of the
World Championships
in March with a virus?
It was the first contest
I’ve ever had to pull
out of. It was such
a disappointment. I
wanted to show I was in
the best form I’ve been
in since having Albert.
Do you take Albert to competitions?
He’s been to every race I’ve been in. I
didn’t have Albert for someone else to
babysit him so he’s travelled the world.What a great experience for him...
He’ll be nearly three at the Tokyo
Olympics so maybe it will form some
of his first memories.Is he showing a sporty side?
Well, he can do a forward roll, you just
have to ask him and over he goes!
He’s got a little balance bike but he
can’t cycle properly yet. He’s a very
active, curious child, always outside,
rolling around with the dog and
coming back in absolutely filthy.Would you like more children?
I hope so. As athletes, we have to plan a
family around the Olympics! In an ideal
world, I’d only have a year between
children but I couldn’t take another two
years out from competition.Is it a conscious effort
to keep Albert out of
the spotlight?
I want Albie to make
the choice about what
he shares online when
he’s older. Me and
Jason are really, really
normal people and
we want to make sure
Albert is brought up
with the same values.Will you compete at
Albert’s school sports
days in the future?
I’m really not competitive in
everyday life. On the track,
I care about winning but
otherwise I really don’t. I
think the other mums would
eye me up on the start line
and think, I want to beat
her, though!Did you enjoy the women’s
football World Cup?
I did and was heartbroken
for them not to make the
final. But the Lionesses are
the heroes of today, the
kind of idols our youngergeneration needs. What they’ve
done is phenomenal, regardless of
winning or losing. I really hope this
is the turning point for women’s sports
to be seen on the same level as men’s.
There was 15-year-old tennis player
Coco Gauff at this year’s Wimbledon
and there’s the netball World
Championships coming up. Women in
sport are having a moment!Tell us about your involvement with
the I Am Team GB Sports Day...
Team GB and Toyota have teamed up
to put on a sports day on August 24.
We’re encouraging everyone to get
off the sofa and give sport a go, try
something new. That’s how I started
cycling; my mum used to cycle to lose
weight so I tried it and loved it, that
kick started everything.LAURA KENNY WAS SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF
TOYOTA, PRESENTING PARTNER OF I AM TEAM GB,
THE NATION’S BIGGEST SPORTS DAY ON SATURDAY
AUGUST 24 2019. JOIN THE TEAM AT
WWW.IAMTEAMGB.COM#IAMTEAMGB.Above: Laura
and Jason tied
the knot in 2016.
Below: Laura with
their son AlbieidWhh’INTERVIEW BY CLARE FISHER
PHOTOGRAPHS BY EYEVINE, GETTY IMAGES, PAOK!Above: Winning Olympic gold.
Below: Laura
is involved in
I Am Team GB