The news that Laura and Jason Kenny are expecting their first child has got some people wondering whether there’s a future Olympic champion in the making, given the parents have amassed 10 gold medals between them and will be looking to add to their collection at Tokyo in 2020.
But anyone wondering whether it might be worth making a small investment in the prospect of Kenny Junior’s future success will be disappointed in the odds being offered – with Betfair offering a miserly 11/2 on the nipper one day becoming an Olympic champion.
On the closing evening at the Olympic velodrome in Rio last summer, shortly after Laura Trott (as she then was) had won the Omnium to secure her fourth career Olympic gold medal, Jason Kenny won his sixth in the keirin.
But if you have a hunch that the tot will one day exceed the number of Olympic titles won by either parent – in which case, you’d better hope they excel at swimming rather than cycling given the increased medal chances in the pool – you’ll only get odds of 10/1.
Betfair is also providing odds on what the child will be called. If a boy, the front-runner is Bradley at 6-1, while the leading girl’s name is Victoria at 10/1.
If you can see a theme developing, you’d be right – other names available include Cav at 25/1, Wiggo at 33/1 and, erm, Lance at 9/1.
Laura Kenny revealed the happy news on Valentine’s Day evening on Instagram with a picture of two adult bikes – one from her own Trott range – alongside a child’s bike, the post accompanied by a heart.
A post shared by Laura Kenny (@laurakenny31) on
Her husband replied on Twitter with a rather more tongue-in-cheek post.
Their agent said the pair, who got married in September, are "absolutely thrilled and delighted with the news".
He added: "They very much appreciate all the kind wishes and messages of support that they have received already.”
The Kennys announced the news after they received the results of Laura’s 12-week scan.
A hamstring injury meant she missed the national track championships last month.
She said at the time that she hoped to ride in the world championships in Hong Kong in mid-April, but given she will be at least 21 weeks’ pregnant at that point that now seems highly unlikely.
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
What tune is that? I don't see any quotes from either of them claiming any expectations from their child, just some odds from bookies. Nothing looks like parental pressure here
What if the kid wants to be a web designer, or an accountant, or a (gulp) politician? Growing up, will they have all their friends and relations saying about how their parents were Olympians etc etc?
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9 comments
A throwaway comment from a woman to her then fiancé does not a tune make
My 'tune' was I thought she'd already previously declared they were going to breed a genetic uberchild?
It is, very cheap - I very rarely bet, but I'll be swerving Betfair when I do because it looks like they do really shitty odds.
So we will see if Britich Cycling welcomes Mrs K/T back with open arms. It is so competetive heaven knows what a year away will do to her 'prospects.'
What tune is that? I don't see any quotes from either of them claiming any expectations from their child, just some odds from bookies. Nothing looks like parental pressure here
They'll soon change their tune after their first scare of any sort. Just growing up healthy will hopefully be enough then.
I think I'm suffering Kenny-Trott overload.
no pressure then, poor kid
This.
What if the kid wants to be a web designer, or an accountant, or a (gulp) politician? Growing up, will they have all their friends and relations saying about how their parents were Olympians etc etc?