Sir Chris Hoy's terminal cancer, wife's incurable illness, not telling kids and leaving UK

hero Sir Chris Hoy is fighting on after his family were dealt with an unimaginably tragic situation last year. The former cyclist announced in October that his while also disclosing the tragic news that his wife of 14 years, Sarra, is battling her own illness.

The 48-year-old won six Olympic golds between 2004 and 2012 - the second-highest total achieved by any British Olympian. His tally is only bettered by Sir Jason Kenny, who has seven to his name.

Sir Chris retired from cycling in 2013 and in recent years has been a regular pundit and commentator as part of BBC Sport's coverage of the sport. Many consider him to be one of Britain's finest athletes in history.

But in September 2023, his life was turned upside down when Hoy discovered from a meeting with a doctor that he had Stage 4 cancer. His initial diagnosis suggested that he had a tumour in his shoulder, but the primary cancer was located in his prostate.

It then spread to his bones, pelvis, hip, spine, shoulder and rib, rendering the cancer incurable. Hoy has been given between two and four years to live.

Sir Chris revealed he knew for a year that his cancer is terminal, and he explained why he considers himself to be lucky rather than focusing on the negative factors that come with it.

"As unnatural as it feels, this is nature," Hoy said. "You know, we were all born and we all die, and this is just part of the process.

"You remind yourself, 'aren't I lucky that there is medicine I can take that will fend this off for as long as possible'."

Sir Chris added: "Hand on heart, I'm pretty positive most of the time and I have genuine happiness. This is bigger than the Olympics. It's bigger than anything. This is about appreciating life and finding joy."

As if dealing with Sir Chris' tragic news wasn't enough, the family were dealt further heartbreak later in 2023 when it was revealed his wife, Sarra, 40, had been diagnosed with a "very reactive and aggressive" type of multiple sclerosis (MS) just before Christmas.

Sarra is undergoing low-risk, less effective treatments to treat her condition. There are more potentially effective treatments available, but the risks are understood to be higher to MS patients.

Having been married since 2010, Sir Chris and Sarra have two children together, Callum 10, and Chloe, seven. The couple made the heart-wrenching decision not to tell their kids about her incurable MS as the family cope with an unimaginable situation.

They were already faced with the agony of telling their young children that their father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer - a conversation Sir Chris described as the "hardest thing I've ever done".

But the thought of them learning the information about their mother's condition from another source was even more difficult to bear for Sir Chris.

In an emotional discourse with The Sunday Times, the British icon said he was concerned that one of his children might be told: "I saw your daddy on the news last night and he's going to die."

To shield their young family from the media, the Hoys on a two-week half-term holiday. But he admitted the news could still filter out to their kids.

"Hopefully the dust will have settled," he said. "You know what? It may happen. If it does, we will deal with it."