The Olympic hero whose thighs are bigger than Posh's waist



Chris Hoy's bulging thighs have a circumference of 27in - 4in more than Victoria Beckham's waist.

He can reach 44mph on his bike from a standing start in less than ten seconds. A typical family hatchback can accelerate from zero to 60mph in the same time.

Hoy, 32, was inspired to take up cycling as a five-year-old when he saw ET and was transfixed by the film's defining scene of five boys flying across the setting sun on bikes.

Thunder thighs: Chris Hoy's 27inch-wide legs have powered him to three Gold medals

His mother, Carol, bought him a BMX from a jumble sale for £5, and within two weeks he had broken it doing wheelies.

The youngster was so devastated that his mother got him another one for £99.

He switched to track cycling a few years later, and at the age of 13 wrote in his diary that he was going to be an Olympic champion. He didn't say how many times.

Add his Beijing tally to the gold he won in Athens in 2004 and Hoy becomes one of Britain's greatest Olympians.





Only rower Sir Steve Redgrave has won more gold medals.

Hoy's father David, 62, is a surveyor, and he had a comfortable upbringing in Edinburgh.

Thigh master: Chris Hoy's thighs are four inches wider than Posh's waist

He attended the £8,000-a-year George Watson's College, which also boasts Scotland rugby star Gavin Hastings and former Defence Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind as old boys.

At St Andrews University, Hoy was rewarded with the Sportsman of the Year title in 1996.

He later gained a degree in sports science at Edinburgh.

Today he is a full-time cyclist and lives on £23,000 a year, a fraction of what many Premiership football stars earn in a week.





The money comes from the National Lottery, which also provides another £70,000 which goes on equipment and coaching.

His dedication to his sport means he lives in Salford, near the British cycling team HQ and 200 miles from his girlfriend, 28-year-old Edinburgh lawyer Sarra Kemp.

He said she is 'very understanding'. So understanding, it seems, that she doesn't even complain when he pinches her razor to shave those mighty thighs.



Olympic hero: Chris Hoy and his three gold medals