Jason Kenny believes his wife Laura will become Britain’s most successful Olympian, beating his and Chris Hoy’s joint record.
At present, he and Hoy both have six golds, while Laura Kenny is the most successful female athlete with four golds.
“Laura will probably come along and trump it anyway,” Kenny told BBC Sport when asked about the potential for him to take a record-setting seventh gold in Tokyo next year. “So it would be short-lived even if I did get it.”
Mr Kenny says he doesn’t obsess over being the outright holder of the record, having come out of a secret retirement in 2017 to focus on the Tokyo Olympics, with no concrete plans to retire afterwards this time.
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“Since coming back after that year off I’ve just been determined to enjoy it and do what I want and stick to the bits I like. That’s what I’ve been doing,” he said.
Kenny was one of the first cyclists to return to training at the Manchester velodrome after the coronavirus caused it to close during lockdown. Athletes now use an app to check their health and temperature when they arrive, as well as using a one-way corridor system to adhere to social distancing measures.
Unlike road racers, Kenny says it was hard for track cyclists to train indoors at home as replicating what it’s like to ride on a velodrome is too difficult.
“The track is so specific. You just can’t replicate being on wood, being on that bike, in that position, and doing the effort.
“It was a long time to be away from that and it feels a bit alien initially, but you soon get back into the groove,” he said.
A video emerged last week showing one of the bizarre (or innovative) techniques the track team have developed to continue training without breaching the two-metre social distancing guideline.
Sprint coach Kevin Stewart shared the video, showing him using a long pole to get riders to the start line and giving them a push of without having to come into direct contact.
“We’ve been doing hand-held starts with our coach, who’s fully PPE’d up from head to toe,” Kenny added. “I come out of the track centre and I’m hoarse because we’re all spread out and shouting at each other.”
