Multiple Olympic and world champion cyclist Katie Archibald retires to become nurse

"The draw of the real world has been pulling me for a while, but I've been too scared to leave the world I know and love and, ultimately, to let go of something I'm good at. She is now retraining to be a nurse. I've fallen completely in love with the whole thing, Archibald said. When I let my friends and teammates know I was retiring from sport, they assumed it was because I wasn't coping doing both."

"Archibald, who also won team pursuit silver at the Tokyo Games along with gold in the Madison, first came to prominence through grass-track racing against men at events such as the Highland Games. She was then selected for the Great Britain academy squad at Manchester velodrome. When you're 19 and somebody says: We'll let you train full-time and target the Commonwealths and maybe even an Olympics,' there's never going to be another thought which says: Ah, well, what are my other options?' she told the Guardian in 2024."

"It was the most unbelievable opportunity and thank goodness I went for it. She proved a quick learner and, as one of a stellar quartet, won the 2013 European team pursuit title on her competitive debut alongside Laura Kenny, Dani Rowe and Elinor Barker. She became a serial medal winner, taking six European titles, a world title and a Commonwealth Games bronze in the buildup to her Olympic debut in Rio 2016, where she won team pursuit gold with Kenny, Barker and Joanna Rowsell."

"In 13 years of racing Archibald won 51 medals while at world, European, Commonwealth and Olympic levels to establish herself as one of track cycling's highest achievers. However, alongside the highs were some traumatic lows, none more so than the unexpected death of her"

Katie Archibald has announced immediate retirement from track cycling. The 32-year-old will not compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She said the real world had been pulling her for a while and that she was scared to leave what she knew, but she has now fully embraced the next step. She is retraining to become a nurse. Archibald previously won Olympic gold at Rio and Tokyo, including team pursuit gold and Madison gold, plus additional Olympic silver. She also won multiple world, European, and Commonwealth titles, and accumulated 51 medals across major competitions over 13 years. Her career began with grass-track racing and progressed through the Great Britain academy squad at Manchester velodrome.

Read at www.theguardian.com