Britain’s most successful Olympian, Sir Jason Kenny, has today been announced as the new Podium Men’s Sprint Coach for the Great Britain Cycling Team, bringing down the curtain on an illustrious career which has seen him win seven Olympic titles across four Games.

Kenny will take up the role with immediate effect as the men’s sprint team continue their preparations for Paris 2024, where they will look to continue a proud record of finishing on the podium in every men’s sprint event since Beijing 2008.

A product of British Cycling’s Rider Route, Kenny burst onto the international scene by winning a clean sweep of three gold medals at the 2006 UCI Junior World Track Cycling Championships, before making his senior debut later that same year.

He won his first Olympic gold at Beijing in the team sprint, and was second to Sir Chris Hoy in the individual sprint, before taking both titles four years later in London. Remarkably, he then went one better in Rio in 2016, taking a clean sweep of team sprint, individual sprint and keirin titles to match Hoy’s six Olympic titles.

Yet Kenny wasn’t finished there, and after taking team sprint silver in Tokyo he then produced one of the all-time great Olympic performances to claim a seventh gold in the keirin, catching the field by surprise with a searing acceleration to blaze to an unprecedented solo victory. With that medal Kenny became Britain’s most successful Olympian, and was knighted in the New Year Honours list in December last year.

British Cycling Performance Director, Stephen Park CBE, said:

“To win an Olympic medal of any colour is a magnificent achievement, but it’s almost impossible to comprehend the level of talent, dedication and resilience needed to top the podium seven times across four Olympic Games.

“In many ways Jason’s final race, the Tokyo keirin, was the perfect embodiment of all that has made him such a joy to watch. Of the millions watching worldwide I don’t think any could have foreseen the guile and explosive power which saw him blaze to victory, and I can think of no better way to call time on such a wonderful career.

“It goes without saying that Jason has made a magnificent contribution to our team, and I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to hold on to all of that knowledge and experience as he embarks on his career as a coach. We understand the vital importance of developing great riders to become great coaches, and we look forward to working with Jason as he develops his own style to support the medal ambitions of others over the years ahead.”

Sir Jason’s former team-mate and six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, said:

“I was really excited to hear that Jason has been appointed as the men’s sprint coach. He was a fantastic team-mate and an extraordinary athlete, and I’m looking forward to seeing him translate his experiences over four Olympic Games into supporting the next generation of talented British riders to achieve their best.”
We would like to place on record our thanks to Scott Pollock, who took up the role of Men’s Sprint Programme Lead in January 2021 for the vital run-in to the Tokyo Games.