Laura Kenny‘s victory in the Commonwealth Games scratch race might have had a familiar feeling – a 34th gold medal at a major international event sealed with the exhilarating combination of speed and acuity that has characterised her career. But this one was different.
An emotional Kenny revealed after the podium ceremony that she’d “lost the spark” this year, finding it difficult to find motivation to train. On top of that, she said she’d suffered a “confidence crisis” just the previous day, placing a lowly 13th in the points race.
After becoming the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history at the Tokyo Games last year, as well as Britain’s most successful female Olympian of any sport, Kenny has had a tough time of late. She suffered a miscarriage in November and then in January suffered an ectopic pregnancy, forcing her to have a fallopian tube removed.
Kenny revealed that she had seriously contemplated retirement on several occasions.
“I can’t believe it. Honestly, last night I said to Jason [Kenny – husband], ‘I think this is going to be my last race’,” she told the BBC after winning the scratch race.
“I watched [swimmer] Adam Peaty and I completely reflected on his interview and I thought: ‘That’s me, that is me all over, I’ve lost the spark, training doesn’t come that easy. Every day I’m like, ‘Ah, here we go again.’ I’ve been through three Olympic cycles now. To keep picking yourself up after this whole year has just, honestly, been a nightmare. I have absolutely just lost motivation.”
On top of that, Kenny hadn’t had the best start to the Commonwealth Games, an event she didn’t think she’d be riding given the planned arrival of her second child. She herself said she was “going terribly” last week, describing herself as “the weak link” in the bronze medal-winning team pursuit quartet before finishing Sunday’s points race down in 13th.
She revealed that had something to do with her confidence taking another hit after witnessing the horrific crash that saw Matt Walls fly up the banking and into the stands on Sunday.
“I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind. You see [Matt] Wallsy crash like that, and it really makes you think: ‘What am I doing?’ I have been so lucky my whole career. I have had one broken shoulder and one broken arm – it’s really not been that bad. But you see something like that…
“I messaged Monica [Greenwood, British Cycling coach] straight away and I was like: ‘I’m having a serious confidence crisis.’ I just…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…