430px-Chris_Hoy_at_the_Homecoming_Parade_(cropped)

October 29, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum

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430px-Chris_Hoy_at_the_Homecoming_Parade_(cropped)

Sir Chris Hoy, MBE (born 23 March 1976) Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy, MBE (born 23 March 1976), known as Chris Hoy, is a Scottish racing driver and former track cyclist who represented Great Britain at the Olympics and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a world champion and six-times an Olympic champion. With a total of seven Olympic medals, six gold and one silver, Hoy is the second most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time. With his three gold medals in 2008 Summer Olympics, Hoy became Scotland's most successful Olympian, the first British athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games since Henry Taylor in 1908, and the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time. After winning a further two gold medals (in the keirin and team sprint) at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Hoy has won more Olympic gold medals (six) than any other British athlete along with Jason Kenny, and more total medals (seven) than any except fellow cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins. Early life The son of David and Carol Hoy, Chris Hoy grew up in the suburb of Murrayfield, near Edinburgh, and was educated at George Watson's College, a private school, followed by two years at the University of St Andrews studying Mathematics and Physics until 1996. He subsequently transferred to the University of Edinburgh, from which he graduated B.Sc. (Hons.) in Applied Sports Science in 1999. Hoy, whose first bike cost £5, was inspired to cycle at age six by the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Before track cycling, Hoy raced BMX between the ages of 7 and 14 and was ranked second in Britain, fifth in Europe, and ninth in the world. He received sponsorship from Slazenger and Kwik-Fit and was competing in Europe and the U.S. He first became aware of track cycling when he watched TV coverage of Scottish sprinter Eddie Alexander winning a bronze medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Hoy also represented the Scotland Junior Rowing Team and was second in the 1993 National Rowing Championships with Grant Florence in the coxless pairs. He played rugby as part of his school's team. Early cycling career Hoy joined his first cycling club, Dunedin C.C., in 1990, aged 14, and began concentrating on track cycling in 1993, when he joined the City of Edinburgh Racing Club. In 1997, he and fellow Scottish sprinter Craig MacLean were tipped as medal prospects by Phil Liggett. Hoy won silver in Berlin, at the 1999 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the team sprint, riding at man one, Craig MacLean at 2 and Jason Quealley at 3. Regular team mates in the team sprint over the years have included Craig Maclean, Ross Edgar, Jamie Staff, Jason Queally, Matthew Crampton and Jason Kenny. Go to Wikipedia for full History

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