Olympic golds and royal recognition: A look back at Dame Laura Kenny's record-breaking career
It is the end of an era for British cycling, as Dame Laura Kenny has announced her retirement.
The 31-year-old is the country's most successful female Olympic athlete, having won five Olympic gold medals, as well as seven World Championship titles.
She said it was "time to move on" ahead of the Paris Olympics, as she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Tributes have poured in for the Harlow-born star's career, with British Cycling describing Kenny as "one of the greatest sporting talents" Britain had ever produced.
From her Hertfordshire roots to royal recognition, here ITV News Anglia takes a look back at how Kenny shot to stardom.
Hertfordshire hero and "fighter"
Dame Laura was born in Harlow, Essex, and grew up in Hertfordshire.
She showed her talent from a young age while riding with Welwyn Wheelers in Welwyn Garden City after being introduced to the sport by her mother who was trying to lose weight.
Speaking to ITV News Anglia about her time at the club in 2016, Francis Gallacher, Kenny's former coach, said: "Even then she was competitive - and you saw that spark.
"As a coach, that's what you look for - that spark, that little bit of determination, that something different in them. She had it. She's always had it.
"She's a fighter. She works extremely hard at what she does and I'm really, really proud of her."
Kenny, then Laura Trott, went on to win her first European title at the age of 18 in the team pursuit in 2010.
Her first world title for the same event followed the next year and she enjoyed considerable success in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, leading to a place in the Team GB squad.
Olympics success
That memorable 2012 summer would catapult Trott to a household name.
She first won gold in the women's team pursuit, with the team breaking the world record six times through qualifying and the event itself.
But her personal success came in the new event of Omnium, claiming her first individual Olympic gold.
At the next Olympics in Rio in 2016, she followed up that success by making history.
Her second women's team pursuit victory saw her claim the title of the most successful female British Olympian, however she was not finished.
Trott won the Omnium again - this time by a larger margin - securing a fourth Olympic gold.
Her final Olympics, in Tokyo in 2021, saw success in the first ever women's Madison event, as she won gold with team-mate Katie Archibald.
In doing so, Kenny became the first British woman to win gold at three consecutive Olympics.
She also won a silver medal in the team pursuit.
Royal recognition, family life and tributes
Kenny's record-breaking feats gained recognition from Buckingham Palace, as in 2021 she was made a Dame alongside her husband Jason Kenny - Britain's most decorated Olympian - being given a knighthood.
The sporting couple, who had their first child Albie in 2017, revealed Kenny had suffered an ectopic pregnancy and a miscarriage over the course of several months in 2021 and 2022.
However, in 2023 they welcomed their second child and upon announcing her retirement on Monday, Kenny said it felt like "the right time" to step away from the sport and spend more time with her family.
Kenny's announcement was met by tributes recognising the magnitude of her achievements.
Great Britain Cycling Team Performance Director, Stephen Park CBE, said: “Laura hangs up her wheels as not just one of the sport’s greatest riders, but as one of the greatest sporting talents our country has ever produced.
“All who have had the pleasure of watching Laura compete will pay witness to her peerless combination of craft and determination, which propelled her to become Britain’s most successful female Olympian and the first British woman to win gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games.
"She has been a beacon of inspiration for so many, young and old, and I’m sure that the entire British cycling community will join me in wishing her the very best in the next chapter of her life."
Fellow Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell offered his perspective on Kenny's retirement and said: "You're away from home a lot and if you start out your career and aim for an Olympic medal, she's got five already.
"She's the most successful British female Olympian, married to the most successful British male Olympian, so there's a lot of medals in that house already. So you balance up - do I want to miss my kids growing up?"
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