Sir Chris Hoy reveals wife also diagnosed with incurable disease in double heartbreak | Other | Sport

Sir Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic gold medalist, left the sporting world in shock last night as he revealed his previously shared cancer diagnosis is terminal. The 48-year-old father-of-two was initially under the impression that a pain in his shoulder was due to a gym injury.

However, he was later diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer which had spread to form tumours in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and ribs. “And just like that, I learn how I will die,” Chris reveals in his new book.

In a devastating double blow for the family, Chris’ wife Sarra has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis. This came just months after Chris received his own diagnosis.

Sarra’s GP ordered a scan to investigate a tingling sensation in her face and tongue. She received her results in November but didn’t share the news with her husband until December, revealing it could be MS.

In an extract from his new book All That Matters, shared with The Times this weekend, Chris writes: “It was. Another scan just before Christmas confirmed that Sarra had ‘very active and aggressive’ MS and needed urgent treatment.

Chris shared his emotional turmoil, stating: “It’s the closest I’ve come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What’s going on here? It didn’t seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you’re already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you’re at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you’ve got further to fall. It was brutal.”

The couple had to make a difficult decision between potentially more effective but riskier new treatments and low-risk but less effective options for Sarra. They opted for the latter.

On her worst days, Sarra struggles with simple tasks like putting a key in the door, but she remains positive about their situation. Chris revealed: “She says all the time, ‘How lucky are we? We both have incurable illnesses for which there is some treatment. Not every disease has that. It could be a lot worse’.”

Unlike with Chris’ illness, where they chose to inform their children directly about the cancer, their daughter and son remain unaware of Sarra’s MS.

“I never want to lie to them. But there are certain things you don’t need to tell them straight away,” said Chris, who shares son Callum and a daughter Chloe with Sarra, whom he married in 2010.

The former track cyclist also confessed that many of their friends are still in the dark about Sarra’s diagnosis. However, he is ready to have those conversations now that his revealing book has been made public this weekend.

The star plans to cope by disconnecting from his phone until he feels prepared to talk.

Hoy has revealed that he was ‘forced’ to disclose his cancer diagnosis after learning someone planned to leak the news. This revelation follows his initial announcement of a health battle back in February, though at the time, he did not specify it was cancer.

He expressed optimism and gratitude for the love surrounding him following his 2023 diagnosis.

Hoy served as a BBC pundit during the Paris 2024 Olympics this past summer. His illustrious career on the track includes six Olympic gold medals, 11 world championships, and 34 World Cup titles before retiring from competitive racing in 2013.

Only his former teammate Sir Jason Kenny has won more Olympic golds for Great Britain.

The Edinburgh-born cyclist began his journey at 14 and clinched his first Olympic medal, a team sprint silver, at Sydney in 2000. He went on to win gold in the 1km track time trial at Athens in 2004, three more golds at Beijing in 2008, and two at London 2012.

Following his triumph at the Beijing Olympics, Hoy was knighted in the 2008 New Year Honours List.