The Olympic medal-winner describes his treatment for cancer and reflects on lessons learned through sport
n a state of shock, Hoy – who is now 48 – went home with his wife, Sarra, to digest their new reality. The couple have two young children so, until they knew the treatment plan, they decided to keep the news to themselves aside from close friends and family. Hoy continued with his usual work commitments: talks, sports punditry and a weekly podcast. A few weeks later, he would begin a course of chemotherapy in a bid to stop the cancer spreading further.
It is hard to fathom, given all that has happened, quite how Hoy found the time and wherewithal to record his experiences in a memoir, written with the journalist Matt Majendie. While the process may have been cathartic, there is clearly more to it than that. There is a thread of gratitude in the book that runs far deeper than performative celebrity humility.
It’s with rawness and clarity that the early chapters detail those first shattering consultations. On learning that his cancer was terminal, Hoy went “completely numb. I go green in the face, Sarra tells me afterwards. I definitely feel nauseous, I can’t form words or even thoughts to ask questions, but I am vaguely aware of Sarra doing that while I sit there. The noise is distant, the words totally indiscernible.
The book goes on to document Hoy’s treatment, while fitfully jumping back in time to recall high points from his career as the first Briton to win six Olympic golds. This is surprisingly relevant, as Hoy finds he is able to utilise old training tools. “Outrunning a terminal illness is a lot tougher than going for Olympic gold but ultimately it is about a person facing challenges and finding ways to take them on,” he notes.
Astonishingly, there is more hardship to come for the Hoy family. Shortly after his own diagnosis, his wife learns she has multiple sclerosis. Since this is Hoy’s book and not hers, he doesn’t dwell on the details but you are left wondering just how much trauma one family can endure. And yet for much of this candid, sad yet ultimately life-affirming book Hoy finds himself marvelling at his good fortune, both professional and personal.
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