Emily Kay, who has been part of Ireland's team pursuit line-up in recent seasons, has announced her immediate retirement from cycling. Her departure from the Irish camp, indeed from cycling, comes as the team pursuit riders are on the cusp of qualifying for the Olympics for the first time.
Kay declared for Ireland after first competing with Great Britain and was part of the Irish national team set-up since 2019. She had been part of the team pursuit line-up when it was down to four, meaning no reserve rider, until Lara Gillespie returned from a period of illness and injury.
Ahead of the last races in the Olympic qualification process, the Cycling Ireland high performance set-up will now face something of a challenge in slotting a fifth rider in the team after the departure of Kay (28).
Advertisement
However, Erin Creighton will have a very good chance at that berth, where she would join Alice Sharpe, Gillespie, Mia Griffin and Kelly Murphy, who are expected to be the first choice quarter in the months ahead.
During her time riding with Great Britain, Kay won four medals at the Europeans, three silvers and a bronze in the scratch race, madison and team pursuit while also winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games, riding the scratch race for England, in Australia in 2018.
Competing for Ireland, she won a bronze medal in the omnium event at UCI World Cup in Milton, Canada, four years ago. She also won bronze in the team pursuit in the Europeans in 2021 and represented Ireland at the Olympics, in the madison, in Tokyo in 2021.
Related News
"Going to the Olympic Games and representing Ireland was the highlight of my career," Kay said. "It was always my dream to go to the Olympic Games and to achieve that and to go and represent Ireland was a really special moment for me and my family. Off the back of that, the other really big achievement for me was getting that bronze medal in the 2021 Track European Championships in the team pursuit.
"It was Ireland's first major team pursuit medal and I've watched the team evolve and then to be a part of quite a big stepping stone on the team's journey was a really proud moment. I'd like to wish the girls the very best in the coming months as they continue their qualification campaign for the Paris Olympics.
"I'd like to thank Cycling Ireland, Sport Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland for their support in recent years as well as all my teammates, coaches, team staff, my friends, my family and everyone who's supported me along the way. I wouldn't be where I am today without all of those people behind me.
"I've been in this sport for 23 years now - professional for the past ten years - I love the sport. I still want to be involved and hopefully pass off some knowledge in some capacity, I want to do some coaching and share some of my own experiences. I'm really interested in performance lifestyle, so that's something that I'm going to try and pursue now."
Cycling Ireland's national track coach, Dan Henchy, said Kay had been "a great ambassador" for Irish cycling. "On a personal level, I’ve learnt a huge amount from working with Emily and I look forward to seeing what the next chapter holds for her," he added.
"While it may be the last we see of Emily in an Irish jersey as a rider, I know she’s keen to explore how she can share some of her vast experience with the next generation of riders so I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll see of her at a bike race.”
