New Delhi: Six-time Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy revealed that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and doctors have suggested that his remaining life span is between two-four years. The 48-year-old Scottish athlete had announced in February that he learned about the disease and underwent chemotherapy.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Hoy has revealed that scans showed that he had a tumour in his shoulder, and another scan mentioned that a primary cancer in his prostate spread it to other body parts such as pelvis, hip, spine and ribs.
“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. But most of the battle for me with cancer hasn’t been physical. For me, it has been in my head,” Hoy told The Sunday Times.
“And just like that I learn how I will die,” he added.
Double blow for Chris Hoy
To make the matters sound worse, Hoy revealed that his wife Sarra, with whom the former Olympian has two children, has also been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.”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,” he said.
Chris Hoy’s major achievements in cycling
Hoy, who was born in Edinburgh in March 1976, took up cycling as a sport during his teenage days. His first Olympic medal, which was a silver in team sprint, came at the Sydney Olympics 2000 Games. In the following edition in Athens in 2004, Hoy became an Olympic gold medallist after winning the one kilometre time-trial in Athens. He added three more gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008 and another two at the London edition in 2012.
Hoy also won 11 world titles before retiring from competitive cycling in 2013.
“As unnatural as it feels, this is nature. A lot of deaths are sudden, leaving no chance to say goodbyes or make peace with everything. But I’ve been given enough time,” Hoy said in his interview with The Sunday Times.
