Laura Kenny facts for kids
Kenny at the 2015 UEC European Track Championships
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Laura Rebecca Kenny |
| Born | 24 April 1992 Harlow, Essex, England |
| Height | 1.63 m |
| Weight | 52 kg |
| Team information | |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type |
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Dame Laura Rebecca Kenny, also known as Lady Kenny (born Laura Trott on April 24, 1992), is a retired British professional cyclist. She was famous for her amazing skills in track cycling endurance races. These races include the team pursuit, omnium, scratch race, and madison.
Laura Kenny is the most successful British female athlete in Olympic history. She has won six Olympic medals: five gold and one silver. She first became a European champion in 2010 and a world champion in 2011. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won two gold medals in the team pursuit and the omnium.
She continued to win world titles in 2013, 2014, and 2016. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she successfully defended both of her Olympic titles. After becoming a mother in 2017, she returned to cycling in 2018 and won more European titles. She earned her fifth Olympic gold medal in the madison event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were held in 2021). She also won a silver medal in the team pursuit at those games.
Laura Kenny had her second child in 2023 and retired from cycling in March 2024. During her career, she won five Olympic, seven World Championship, 14 European Championship, and two Commonwealth Games titles. She mostly focused on track cycling, but she also won the British National Road Race Championships in 2014. In 2016, she married fellow cyclist Jason Kenny. Together, they have won fifteen Olympic medals, including twelve golds. This is a record for married Olympians!
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Laura's Early Life
Laura Kenny was born early in Harlow, England. She had a collapsed lung and was later diagnosed with asthma. Doctors suggested she try sports to help her breathing. She tried trampolining but had to stop because she would pass out.
She grew up in Cheshunt and went to Turnford School. Her older sister, Emma Trott, also became a professional road cyclist. Laura and Emma started cycling with their mother, who began riding to lose weight. Around age nine, Laura joined a local cycling club called the Welwyn Wheelers.
Laura's Cycling Journey
Starting Out: 2009–2012
In 2009, Laura won the junior women's pursuit title at the British National Track Championships. She also won the British Junior Road Race champion title. In 2010, she won a gold medal in the omnium at the World Junior Track Championships. She also won her first senior-level gold medal at the European Championships in the team pursuit.
Laura won her first world title in 2011 at the World Track Cycling Championships. She was part of the winning team pursuit. She then won three gold medals at the Under-23 European Track Championships. Later that year, she won two more gold medals at the senior European Track Championships.
In 2012, Laura joined Team Ibis Cycles for road racing. Back on the track, she won two world titles at the World Track Cycling Championships in Melbourne. In the team pursuit, Great Britain's team, including Laura, broke the world record twice! She also won the omnium title.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Laura won a gold medal in the team pursuit. The team set a new world and Olympic record. Laura said, "I can't believe it. It's been my dream since I was eight." She also won a second gold medal in the omnium event.
More Victories: 2013–2016
In 2013, Laura joined the Wiggle Honda team. She won another world title in the team pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships. The women's team pursuit race was then changed to include four riders and a longer distance. Laura won more gold medals at the European Under-23 and senior Track Championships. Her team also set a new world record in the team pursuit.
Laura won gold in the team pursuit at the 2014 Track Cycling World Championships. She also won a silver medal in the omnium. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she won a gold medal in the points race. She also won the national road championships that year.
In 2015, Laura won three gold medals at the European Track Championships. She won in the team pursuit, scratch race, and omnium. In 2016, she won gold in the omnium and scratch race at the World Championships in London.
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At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Laura won gold in the team pursuit. Her team set another world record. This made her the first British woman to win three Olympic gold medals. She then won her second gold medal of the games in the omnium. After the Olympics, Laura and her fiancé, Jason Kenny, were called the 'golden couple' because they won five gold medals together. She was also nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
Motherhood and Retirement: 2017–2024
After having her first child in August 2017, Laura returned to training in 2018. She won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the World Track Cycling Championships. In August, she won gold medals in the team pursuit and elimination race at the European Track Championships. She continued to win six more gold medals in the Track Cycling World Cup series that year.
In 2019, Laura won a bronze medal in the team pursuit at the World Track Cycling Championships. She also won gold in the team pursuit and two silver medals at the European Track Championships.
In January 2020, Laura broke her shoulder during a race. She decided not to have surgery so she could compete in the World Track Cycling Championships. At these championships, she won a silver medal in the team pursuit. The Olympics were then postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, Laura won three medals at the European Track Championships.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), Laura won a silver medal in the team pursuit. Her team briefly held the world record! Laura and Katie Archibald then became the first Olympic champions in the women's madison event. Laura said, "I have never wanted to win a race so badly in my life."
This victory made Laura the first British woman to win gold medals at three Olympics in a row. She became the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history. Laura was also chosen to be the flag bearer for Great Britain at the closing ceremony.
In 2022, Laura won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the Track Nations Cup. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she won her first gold medal in the competition since 2014 in the scratch race. She also won a bronze medal in the team pursuit.
Laura became a mother for the second time in July 2023. She retired from cycling on March 18, 2024. She ended her career as the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history.
Life After Cycling
After retiring, Laura Kenny joined the BBC's coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics. She worked as an expert on the cycling events. Later in 2024, she was an ambassador for the Unsung Hero Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
In March 2025, Laura was named president of Commonwealth Games England. She is the youngest person to hold this important role.
Laura's Family Life
Laura married fellow track cyclist Jason Kenny on September 24, 2016. They had their first son in August 2017. They welcomed their second son in July 2023. In December 2024, it was announced that she was expecting her third child, and she gave birth to a daughter in May 2025.
As a married couple, Laura and Jason have won fifteen Olympic medals together, including twelve golds. This is a record for Olympic medalists who are married to each other.
After the 2012 Olympics, the Royal Mail painted postboxes gold in the hometowns of British gold medalists. They mistakenly painted a postbox in Harlow, where Laura was born, instead of Cheshunt, which she considers her home. A second postbox was then painted gold in Cheshunt to fix the mistake.
Laura is a fan of the Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur.
Awards and Recognition
Laura Kenny has received many honors for her achievements in cycling:
- She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2013.
- She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2017.
- She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2022. Her husband, Jason, was also knighted at the same time.
In 2012, she was given the freedom of the borough of Broxbourne. She also received an honorary degree from the University of Essex in 2013. In 2014, the Grundy Park Leisure Centre in Cheshunt was renamed The Laura Trott Leisure Centre in her honor.
See also
In Spanish: Laura Kenny para niños
