Jason Kenny

Sir
Jason Kenny
CBE
Kenny in 2024
Personal information
Full nameJason Francis Kenny
Born (1988-03-23) 23 March 1988 (age 36)
Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight80 kg (176 lb)[1]
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Professional team
2008–2013Team Sky+ HD

Sir Jason Francis Kenny, CBE (born 23 March 1988) is a British former[2] track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the holder of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) for a British athlete. Kenny's seven Olympic gold medals place him joint 15th by reference to gold medals won in the Summer Olympic games since 1896. He is the single holder of the records for both most Olympic golds and Olympic medals for a cyclist.

With seven gold and two silver medals, Kenny is the most successful British Olympian, most successful British cyclist, and the most successful cyclist, in Olympic history. His wife, Laura Kenny, holds the same records on the female side (five gold and one silver), and together they are the most successful married couple in Summer Olympic history where both spouses have won at least one gold medal (with 12 gold and 3 silver medals between them).

After winning World and European Junior titles in 2006 and achieving medals in the under-23 European championships in 2007, Kenny was selected to compete for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[3] With Chris Hoy and Jamie Staff, he won a gold medal in the team sprint, breaking the world record in the qualifying round.[4] He finished behind Hoy in the final of the individual sprint, gaining a silver medal.

In January 2012, he gained his first world championship title, when Grégory Baugé's results were nullified after a backdated 12-month ban for missing a drugs test, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) promoted Kenny to the gold medal.[5][6] At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he won gold medals in both the team sprint and the individual sprint, beating Baugé in the final. At the 2016 Summer Olympics Kenny again won in the Team Sprint and the Individual Sprint, and also won the Keirin. In the 2020 Summer Olympics he won the Keirin again.

  1. ^ a b "Athlete Biography – KENNY Jason". Beijing Olympics official website. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Jason Kenny: Great Britain's most successful Olympian retires". BBC Sport. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  3. ^ Kenny gets nod as France vs Britain grudge match looms American Broadcasting Company; 15 August 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008
  4. ^ "Awesome GB sprint team take gold". BBC Sport. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
  5. ^ Stokes, Shane (6 January 2012). "UCI confirms Jason Kenny, Germany are upgraded to 2011 world track champions". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Baugé and France lose World track titles". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.