Chris Hoy’s cancer prognosis has delivered a jolting shock to the senses, a reminder that legendary Olympic medal winners are still human and as vulnerable as any of us to life’s curveballs. With that, we have gained a powerful dose of a precious commodity in sport and beyond: perspective.
Announced during cycling’s world championships in Denmark, where Hoy was presenting, it was instantly impossible to see the next races as anything other than slightly frivolous, indulgent even. There was a new clarity that they were important but not what mattered most, no longer make or break or life-defining as commentators often suggest, and we searched for joy within these races, essential if they were to have any meaning.
