Edinburgh Olympic cycling hero Chris Hoy and wife Sarra 'will not be defined' by cancer and multiple sclerosis

Lady Sarra Hoy insisted they would not allow the devastating diagnoses define them.

Edinburgh-born Sir Chris, Britain’s six-times Olympic gold medallist, found out he had cancer in September 2023, went public with it in February 2024 and revealed in October last year that the disease was terminal and he had been given “between two and four years” to live.

Sir Chris Hoy and wife Sarra - she says they will not be ‘victims’ of their medical diagnoses. Picture: Getty Images

At the same time, he revealed Lady Sarra had been diagnosed with a "very active and aggressive" type of multiple sclerosis.

But he said the couple, - who have two children: Callum, 10, and Chloe, 7 - felt lucky because, although their illnesses were incurable, they could still be treated.

Gving her first solo interview on ITV’s Lorraine show this morning, Lady Sarra spoke about her diagnosis. "You just don't sleep, everything is awful,” she said.

"It was about trying to control what I could, and I just thought, I can't do anything about cancer, I can't do anything about MS, I can't control any of that. What can I do? What can I help? What can I change?

“When everything is spiralling just to stop and say, 'Right now, we're safe, the children are safe, this can't define us. We will not become the victims to this.'

“I think people are really surprised to know that you can be OK. I think it’s definitely what’s helped us get through.”

She said her diagnosis, coming on top of her husband’s, felt “a bit like the final straw”. But she said: “Then, equally, it felt so surreal that in some ways it was easier to deal with because I could say ‘I just have to put that aside right now’.”

And she decided not to tell Sir Chris immediately. “Ye the only person I wanted to tell and get support from was him. We’ve never ever held a secret like that at all, but it was four or maybe six weeks when the diagnosis came after his and I just knew it wasn’t the right time.”

Asked about raising young children while coping with health problems, she added: "With kids you don't get a chance, there's no time to stop and have a day in bed, you just don't get that opportunity. So yes, the children are everything for us and so are our family that surrounds us are everything."

She said she was feeling “really well” just now. And she added: “We’ve been unlucky in a very small area of our lives, the rest we’re surrounded by just wonderful people and great things.”

Sir Chris’s diagnosis came after he thought he had strained his shoulder and was referred to hospital for a scan. The doctor told him he had a tumour in his shoulder and two days later a second scan found primary cancer in his prostate, which had metastasised to his bones. The cancer was stage 4 and had also spread to his pelvis, hip, spine and rib.

Just weeks earlier, Sarra had also been sent for a scan after complaining of tingling sensation in her face and tongue. They were told she had "very active and aggressive" MS and needed urgent treatment.

In an interview last year, Sir Chris said: "It didn't seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you're already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you're at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you've got further to fall. It was brutal."

But he said with time, he had come to view the situation more positively.

"The fear and anxiety, it all comes from trying to predict the future. But the future is this abstract concept in our minds. None of us know what's going to happen. The one thing we know is we've got a finite time on the planet."

All that had changed was that he had "more information" about his future than most people. "So what I've come round to thinking is, why spoil that time? Crack on and enjoy and be grateful for what you do have.”