Victoria Pendleton

Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. She won a total of three Olympic medals (two golds and one silver) during her career.

Pendleton won a total of nine world titles, including a record-equalling six in the individual sprint between 2005 and 2012. She also won world titles in the team sprint in both 2007 and 2008, as well as in the keirin in 2007. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the sprint, and in the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the keirin, as well as a silver medal in the sprint. She also became a Commonwealth Games champion in the sprint in 2006, and a European champion in the team sprint and keirin in 2011. She retired from track cycling after the 2012 Olympics, and had a short career as a jockey from 2015‍–‍16. Riding Pacha Du Polder, she won her first race at Wincanton in March 2016, and finished fifth in the Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival later that month.

Pendleton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours, and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling. She is also a member of the British Cycling Hall of Fame.