The British track and road cyclist and her husband, Jason Kenny, had been hoping for a second child after the birth of their son, Albie.
However, in late 2021, Laura experienced a miscarriage, and in January 2022, she faced an ectopic pregnancy that required emergency surgery.
Laura, 32, recently told The Times: “It was horrendous, really difficult.The chances of having a miscarriage, then an ectopic, are something like 1 percent. So, I kept asking myself, ‘Why do I deserve this?’
“For a long time after that I turned in within myself. I just couldn’t speak to anyone; I wasn’t the very open Laura I am normally. I didn’t know how to voice how I was feeling.”
Reflecting on her performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – during which she clinched gold in the Scratch race – mum-of-two Laura went on to say: “I thought, ‘Why can’t I have that luck in my personal life?’ My body would give me that [cycling success], but it wouldn’t give me the thing I really, really wanted, which was another baby.”
Despite the challenges they faced, the couple’s journey into parenthood was marked by a bittersweet outcome, as they welcomed their second son, Monty, in July 2023. Laura’s decision to retire from cycling earlier this year was driven by her wish to dedicate more time to Jason and their two children.
During an appearance on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, she explained: “I just kept getting this horrible feeling in my tummy like: ‘You don’t want to go there so why are you leaving the children to go there?’ And I thought: ‘No, I don’t want to be riding my bike any more. I’m just doing it because it’s all I’ve ever known.’ And so when I started getting these gut-wrenching feelings I thought: ‘That’s it. Decision made for me.'”
Although Laura has retired from competitive cycling, she hasn’t completely left the sport behind. She is scheduled to join the BBC commentary team for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which begin later this month.
