Latest news with #JasonKenny
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Olympic legend Dame Laura Kenny gives birth to a baby daughter after years of fertility heartbreak
AN Olympic legend has welcomed a baby daughter after years of struggling with her fertility. Congratulations are in order because Dame Laura Kenny, who won five Olympic gold medals before her retirement, has given birth to a baby girl. 5 5 5 Laura and her fellow Olympian husband Jason Kenny endured years of fertility woes, but are now proud parents to three children. The 33-year-old sporting icon took to Instagram on Monday to share the exciting news of her family's new addition. She posted a sweet snap of the newborn baby girl with her older brothers Albie and Monty. "Three's the magic number. Lilian Joyce Kenny Born on 4/5/25 at 10.44am. Weighing 8.0lbs," she revealed in the caption. She added: "Can't stop calling her, him. There was only ever one name we had in mind for a daughter. A mix of both our Nan's names." Laura concluded the caption by writing: "Our beautiful little family is complete." Fans flocked to the comments section in an instant to congratulate the happy couple and their "complete" family. 'OUR FAMILY IS COMPLETE' One person wrote: "Congratulations to you all, what a gorgeous family you are and I'm so happy to hear of her safe arrival! Sending you loads and loads of love." Another said: "Congratulations such a lovely family . Those 3 little ones really cannot grasp yet ..what legends their mummy and daddy are." "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," swooned a third. Olympic legend Laura Kenny fights back tears live on Channel 4's Crufts as she reveals heartbreaking death "Huge congratulations to you and your family! What a beautiful name. I hope you're all doing well," said a fourth. Laura married fellow cycling icon Jason Kenny before they welcomed their first baby, Albie, in 2017. After securing another gold medal in 2021, she then miscarried that November. And just five months later she had an ectopic pregnancy. Pregnancy Myths explained There are a lot of strange myths around pregnancy - and some of them may surprise you... Is it okay to eat prawns when you're pregnant? Can you have sex during a pregnancy? Can you get a tattoo while you're pregnant Is it safe to take paracetamol when you're pregnant? Can you eat mozzarella when you're pregnant? In 2023, she then welcomed another son, Monty. Speaking on Radio 4 about her fertility struggles previously, she said: "Everything was a shock - I went from being so in control of my body to being so out of control." She also said: "Was my body just running on empty, and then it said, 'Well, hang on, there's no way we can do this?'." She spoke about how elite sport might have a damaging impact on the fertility of female athletes. LAURA'S RETIREMENT In 2024, Laura retired from cycling as a sports person. She told BBC Breakfast last summer: "I always knew deep down I would know when was the right time. "I have had an absolute blast but now is the time to hang up the bike. "It's been in my head for a little while, the sacrifices of leaving the children and your family at home is really quite big and it is a really big decision to make." She went on: "More and more, I was struggling to do that. "More people asked me what races I was doing, what training camps I was going on. "I didn't want to go ultimately and that's what it came down to." During her career, Laura won five Olympic golds, seven world golds, 14 European golds, two Commonwealth titles, and six golds at the European Under 23 Championships. 5
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dame Laura Kenny gives birth! Olympian welcomes a daughter with her husband Jason as couple reveal sweet name after years of fertility woes
Dame has welcomed a daughter with fellow Olympian Jason Kenny after years of fertility woes. The sports star took to Instagram on Monday as she posted an adorable snap of the new born with her older brothers Albie and Monty. Sharing her sweet name she penned: 'Three's the magic number. Lilian Joyce Kenny Born on 4/5/25 at 10.44am. Weighing 8.0lbs.' She joked: 'Can't stop calling her, him. There was only ever one name we had in mind for a daughter. A mix of both our Nan's names. 'Our beautiful little family is complete'. Laura has been very open about her fertility struggles after she previously revealed elite sport may have caused her 'out of control' body to suffer a miscarriage. Sharing her sweet name Lilian Joyce Kenny, she penned: 'Three's the magic number' Dame Laura, Britain's most successful female athlete, boasts five gold medals and a silver from three separate Olympic games. She says she 'gave 100 per cent' to every training session and race for more than a decade, even questioning if she had worked hard enough if she did not throw up after a workout. But her commitment may have had an impact on her fertility, she has revealed. After marrying fellow cycling phenomenon Jason and welcoming their first child in 2017, she miscarried in November 2021 and had an ectopic pregnancy five months later. This occurs when a fertilised egg implants and grows outside of the womb - usually in one of the fallopian tubes - requiring emergency surgery. 'Everything was a shock - I went from being so in control of my body to being so out of control,' she told Radio 4's Today programme. 'Was my body just running on empty, and then it said, 'Well, hang on, there's no way we can do this?' While she successfully gave birth to another son, Monty, in July 2023, she had started to talk publicly about her baby losses. She took to Instagram on New Year's Eve to share her pregnancy news, posting a video of her children wearing T-shirts that read 'I'm going to be a big brother to a baby'. Laura captioned the post: '2024 was wonderful, 2025 is going to be even more special.' She was congratulated by other sporting legends, with swimmer Rebecca Adlington writing: 'Congratulations ❤️❤️'; and heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill commenting: 'I knew it ❤️ congratulations to you both'. Other athletes soon revealed they had been through the same thing - raising questions as to whether elite sport could have a damaging impact on fertility. Dr Emma O'Donnell, an exercise physiologist at Loughborough University, said the lifestyle of a professional athlete puts a unique strain on the human body. Laura, who suffered a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy went on to welcome her sons Monty and Albie - Albie was born in 2017 and Monty in 2023 Training at their level burns an incredibly high number of calories and as a result, athletes often have very little body fat. If they don't eat enough food to fuel their workouts then issues with menstrual cycles - such as periods stopping for months or even years - are 'very common', Dr O'Donnell said. The leading idea if that having a baby is so energy-intensive that the brain shuts off reproduction if it thinks there isn't enough spare energy available, she told the BBC. In the UK around one in every 90 pregnancies is ectopic - the equivalent of around 11,000 per year. While it is still unclear why they occur, inflammation and scar tissue in the fallopian tubes can increase the risk. Professor Geeta Nargund, a consultant at St George's Hospital and medical director of Create Fertility, said she doesn't see a 'direct link' between sports and a higher risk of an ectopic pregnancy. However, she said there was a potential link between too much intense exercise in the first three months of pregnancy and miscarriage. During a chat with Women's Health in June, Laura opened up about how the heartbreak of her miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy completely changed her mindset and she was left wanting a baby over any sporting medal. The cyclist, who announced her retirement from the sport back in March, confessed she found herself frustrated with her body as she could her push herself to incredible physical heights, yet she couldn't have a baby. What is an ectopic pregnancy? An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes are the tubes connecting the ovaries to the womb. If an egg gets stuck in them, it won't develop into a baby and your health may be at risk if the pregnancy continues. Unfortunately, it's not possible to save the pregnancy. It usually has to be removed using medicine or an operation. In the UK, around 1 in every 90 pregnancies is ectopic. This is around 11,000 pregnancies a year. Source: NHS She told the publication: 'I cannot tell you how sad I was for a year to 18 months. I mean, you could ask Jase how I was, I was a different person. 'I just went within myself because it was consuming. And all I wanted was this little baby; I didn't want gold medals, you know, I didn't want to go and race in the Commonwealth Games. I wanted a baby. And it just wasn't happening.' Before the birth of her second son and a year after her ectopic pregnancy Laura won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games but admitted she didn't find happiness in the win. She explained: 'I was like, why will [my body] do that and it won't do the one thing that I just want the most... 'I felt like I was living in this yin and yang world where you could only have one of them. 'And when you're an athlete who has had so much control over their body for so long, it literally just felt like the carpet had been ripped out from underneath me because all of a sudden I wasn't in control of it, and there was nothing that I could do.' While she added that she doesn't want to label her sadness at the time as depression, she confessed: 'I'd hate to put a label on myself, but that was the lowest I've been – 100%. It was mentally the toughest period of my life.' Laura also opened up about how the miscarriage affected her husband. 'No one asked him if he was okay, and how he was feeling,' she explained. 'And so I guess I totally underestimated how much I was using him and how much I was talking to him and never actually saying, "Jase, are you actually okay yourself?" 'And it wasn't until quite a long time after could even tell me how bad it was for him, too.' Back in March Laura explained she had made the decision to hang up her bike after struggling to spend time away from her children and the sacrifice of leaving her family at home. Speaking about the struggle of balancing both elite sport and motherhood she admitted that it is doable but it comes with sacrifice, and she wasn't 100% at her best for the Tokyo Olympics. 'It it comes with sacrifice. And you've got to be prepared for a non-perfect I think I went into Tokyo absolutely 100% at my best? No, of course I don't. 'Because rest days weren't rest days and any time I was at home, I wasn't sat on the sofa like Jase and I used to be. I was out on the trampoline, I was playing in the do I think it was harder? Yes. [But] it doesn't need to be incompatible.' Discussing the birth of her second child, Monty, Laura said he completely changed her mindset as an athlete. She explained: 'I felt so privileged to be able to have been pregnant again and then bring him into the world [that] I was just struggling to leave him. 'I couldn't leave him for training sessions because, why would I? All I wanted was him.' Laura admitted she left her son Albie at home dur to Covid protocols during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and found it 'heart-wrenching'. 'I'm not really a the only time that Albie ever remembers Mummy crying is when I had to leave him to go to the Olympics. 'And it just felt like someone literally ripped my heart out and was just throwing it away. It was awful. I remember messaging Jase when I was in the [Athletes'] Village, just saying, 'I hope that I never feel like this again.'
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ireland an ‘outlier' in requiring religious certs to teach in most primary schools
Only countries such as Saudi Arabia *, Iran and Pakistan share the requirement of Irish primary schools for teachers to have religious certificates in order to teach in most settings, a teachers' conference has heard. Almost 90 per cent of primary schools are under Catholic patronage where a religious certificate is required to teach due to the way religion is integrated into the curriculum. At the Irish National Teachers' Organisation 's (INTO) annual congress in Galway on Wednesday, primary teachers backed calls for the removal of the Catholic certificate requirement. They also supported calls for the repeal of legislation which permits schools to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. READ MORE Jason Kenny, a Dublin-based teacher, speaking at the annual congress of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation in Galway. Photograph: Moya Nolan Jason Kenny, a Dublin-based teacher, told the congress that Ireland was an outlier internationally. 'I looked at other western democracies – countries like the UK, the United States, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. All of them maintain secular public-school systems. Even in Catholic-majority countries like Spain and Italy, the vast majority of public schools are secular,' he said. [ Pope Francis's remains moved to St Peter's Basilica as public begin to pay respects Opens in new window ] 'Religious certificates are only needed to teach religion – not every subject. Ireland is the outlier. Who else requires religious certificate to teach in the majority of public primary schools? 'Countries like Saudi Arabia*, Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Egypt and UAE – many of these are countries without a clear separation of church and state; some are not democracies at all.' Alana Wilhem, a primary teacher based in Blessington, Co Wicklow, spoke of having to 'hide her non-religious identity' until recently. 'I taught in my school for 14 years. My colleagues are kind, but genuine belonging means being able to share who you truly are without fear,' she said. 'Only recently ... did I speak openly, a moment that was both terrifying and necessary. I knew I might be risking future employment opportunities, but I'm an adult and I can carry that weight.' Alana Wilhelm speaking at the annual congress of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation in Galway. Photograph: Moya Nolan She also spoke of how one of her children – who attends a local Catholic school – was upset when she had ashes placed on her forehead against her wishes. 'She was upset and afterwards the teacher tried to wash them off. These moments of othering happen every day through ritual, routine and message that imply 'you don't belong',' Ms Wilhem said. 'We cannot champion inclusion while reserving systems of exclusion.' Delegates adopted the recommendations of a union taskforce on the future of religious education and primary school patronage, which calls for an acceleration of divestment of religious schools and a more 'equitable, inclusive and modern' education system. Some delegates, however, spoke in favour of maintaining choice within the education system rather than moving towards a secular system. Hazel McWey, a school principal in Co Carlow, said she was a practising Catholic and that parents were entitled to school choice under the Constitution. 'We don't need to throw the baby out with the Baptismal water,' she said. Helena Teehan, a teacher from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, said Catholic schools were very accommodating and made 'wonderful efforts' to include all children, regardless of their background. She said the religion of teachers did not come up in the staffroom and that having choice in the system helped to vindicate parents' rights. The embassy of Saudi Arabia has since clarified that the Saudi ministry of education 'does not require teachers in primary schools to hold any religious certificates'.
The Sun
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
What is the London Marathon women's record?
THE London Marathon is expected to headline this weekend in the capital. Even with two FA Cup semi-finals set to be contested at Wembley Stadium, thousands will run through London for fame and good causes as the world's best compete in the legendary marathon. The race route begins in Greenwich and leads participants past some of the city's most renowned monuments, such as the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the London Eye, and Big Ben, before concluding on the famed Mall near Buckingham Palace The event has always drawn big stars, and according to The Runnel Channel, this year is no exception. Sir Jason Kenny, the country's most successful Olympian, is completing his first marathon alongside Sir Andrew Strauss and Sir Alastair Cook, two England cricket giants, racing for the Ruth Strauss Foundation. However, with records on the line, it's the very elite that viewers will look towards to see who stars. The women's race will include world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, Olympic winner Sifan Hassan, and silver medallist Tigst Assefa, the three fastest women in history. What is the London Marathon women's record? The London Marathon has seen the marathon world record smashed seven times. In theory, British great Paula Radcliffe, who just made an amazing comeback to the marathon distance in Tokyo, holds the women's race record at the London Marathon. Her 2:15:25 time has remained consistent since 2003. However, that was in a 'mixed' race, meaning men and women began at the exact same time. So there's another record for the 'women-only' race London Marathon. In recent times, the schedule has been adjusted such that elite women begin the race before elite men and the general public. Peres Jepchirchir established the current world record in a women's-only field in 2024 when she ran 2:16:16. 2 Jepchirchir won't defend her title this year after withdrawing with an ankle injury.
Irish Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ireland, Saudi Arabia and Iran ‘outliers' in requiring religious certs to teach in most primary schools
Only countries such as Saudi Arabia , Iran and Pakistan share the requirement of Irish schools for teachers to have religious certificates in order to teach in most primary schools, a teachers' conference has heard. Almost 90 per cent of primary schools are under Catholic patronage where the certificate is required to teach due to the way religion is integrated into the curriculum. At the Irish National Teachers' Organisation 's (INTO) annual congress in Galway on Wednesday, primary teachers backed calls for the removal of the Catholic religious certificate required to teach in most national schools. They also supported calls for the repeal of legislation which permits schools to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. READ MORE Jason Kenny, a Dublin-based teacher, told the congress that Ireland was an outlier internationally. 'I looked at other western democracies – countries like the UK, the United States, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. All of them maintain secular public-school systems. Even in Catholic-majority countries like Spain and Italy, the vast majority of public schools are secular,' he said. [ Pope Francis's remains moved to St Peter's Basilica as public begin to pay respects Opens in new window ] 'Religious certificates are only needed to teach religion – not every subject. Ireland is the outlier. Who else requires religious certificate to teach in the majority of public primary schools? 'Countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Egypt and UAE – many of these are countries without a clear separation of church and state; some are not democracies at all.' Alana Wilhem, a primary teacher based in Blessington, Co Wicklow, spoke of having to 'hide her non-religious identity' until recently. 'I taught in my school for 14 years. My colleagues are kind, but genuine belonging means being able to share who you truly are without fear,' she said. 'Only recently ... did I speak openly, a moment that was both terrifying and necessary. I knew I might be risking future employment opportunities, but I'm an adult and I can carry that weight.' She also spoke of how one of her children – who attends a local Catholic school – was upset when she had ashes placed on her forehead against her wishes. 'She was upset and afterwards the teacher tried to wash them off. These moments of othering happen every day through ritual, routine and message that imply 'you don't belong',' Ms Wilhem said. 'We cannot champion inclusion while reserving systems of exclusion.' Delegates adopted the recommendations of a union taskforce the future of religious education and primary school patronage, which calls for an acceleration of divestment of religious schools and a more 'equitable, inclusive and modern' education system. Some delegates, however, spoke in favour of maintaining choice within the education system rather than moving to a secular system. Hazel McWey, a school principal in Co Carlow, said she was a practising Catholic and that parents were entitled to school choice under the Constitution. 'We don't need to throw the baby out with the Baptismal water,' she sad. Helena Teehan, a teacher from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, said Catholic schools were very accommodating and made 'wonderful efforts' to include all children, regardless of their background. She said the religion of teachers does not come up in the staffroom and that having a firm foundation of faith and choice in the system helped to vindicate parents' rights.
