Katy Marchant retires from cycling after Commonwealth Games silver
Katy Marchant, the 33-year-old Olympic gold medallist from Britain's women's team sprint at the 2024 Paris Games, announced her retirement from cycling on 28 September 2026. Her decision brings to a close a 13-year career that concluded with a silver medal at this summer's Commonwealth Games.
In 2024 Marchant helped the women's team sprint trio secure Britain's first Olympic gold in that event at the Paris Games and also won World and European titles the same year. She previously earned an individual sprint bronze on her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016. Marchant said she had considered continuing to the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 before deciding to step away from competition.
On announcing her retirement Marchant reflected on her achievements and the reasons for stopping, saying: "I've achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of achieving," said Marchant. "It feels really strange. It's not been a difficult decision. "Don't get me wrong, there have been moments where I've thought, 'could I just, should I just, what if I just?' But I know what it takes to push on for another two years. "I'm incredibly proud of where I've got to and what I've done. "I just don't want to make those choices anymore to keep doing what it takes to get to LA."
Marchant began her sporting career as a British junior heptathlete and was persuaded to switch to cycling in 2013 after a coach noticed her times on a static bike. Leeds-born Marchant became the first track sprinter to return to elite competition after becoming a mum in 2024. Two years after the birth of her first child she won Olympic, World and European titles, then suffered a crash that required operations on her arm and sidelined her for 12 months.
She returned to the track in January this year, six months after the birth of her second child, and partnered with Rhianna Parris-Smith and Sophie Capewell to take Commonwealth silver in the team sprint in July. That podium finish was the final competitive result of her professional career.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast about life after racing, Marchant said she is looking forward to "a little bit of freedom" and is using the time to reflect: "I'm actually enjoying the time at the minute to be able to reflect on my journey - something we don't do enough when we're in it," she said. "I'm a farmer's wife, so there could be a bit of that. I have a small cake business that could grow, there is potential. And I'm addicted to high performance and I absolutely love sports. So that might be my path going forward. But I really, really don't know."
She also described immediate changes to daily life since stepping away from elite training, saying: "I had a good work-life balance, but I've been enjoying not having to focus on the amount of protein you're eating every day. I'm feeling a little bit freer. "I've been able to do the school drop-offs, been able to do the swimming lessons, things like that, things that I haven't massively been able to do so much. "I'm really enjoying just being me."
Marchant had publicly weighed the possibility of targeting Los Angeles 2028 but confirmed she would not continue, and told BBC Breakfast she now plans to prioritise family life and explore other pursuits such as her cake business while remaining open to roles connected with high performance sport.