The China Mail - Tributes pour in for Olympic champion Chris Hoy after terminal cancer revelation

The 48-year-old former track racer announced in February that he had been diagnosed with the disease and was undergoing chemotherapy but insisted the treatment was "going really well".

However, the Scottish sporting legend has now told The Sunday Times that he knew at the time his illness was terminal.

When asking doctors how long he had left, he said he was told: "Two to four years".

"We were all born and we all die, and this is just part of the process," Hoy told The Sunday Times.

"You remind yourself, aren't I lucky that there is medicine I can take that will fend this off for as long as possible. But most of the battle for me with cancer hasn't been physical. For me, it has been in my head."

Hoy explained he had initially shrugged off pain in his shoulder as an injury caused by exertions in the gym.

When he was referred for a scan, he was told by a doctor: "I'm really sorry. There's a tumour in your shoulder."

Another scan revealed primary cancer in his prostate which metastasised to his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and ribs.

"And just like that," said Hoy. "I learn how I will die."

In a double blow, Hoy also revealed that his wife Sarra has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

"It's the closest I've come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What's going on here? It didn't seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you're already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you're at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you've got further to fall. It was brutal."

- 'Inspiring' -

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those to offer their support to Hoy.

"Such sad news. Chris is a British sporting legend. To face his diagnosis with such positivity is inspiring.

"The whole country is behind him and his family," Starmer posted on X.

Fellow cycling titan Mark Cavendish described Hoy as a "hero of a human being", while former Scotland striker turned commentator Ally McCoist said: "You, my friend are a superstar in every sense of the word."

Olympic athletics champion Kelly Holmes and Britain's most successful Paralympian Sarah Storey also replied to his post with messages of support.

Olympic rowing champion Matthew Pinsent said his thoughts were with Hoy and his family, describing him as "one of the finest to ever represent our country".

Scottish First Minister John Swinney praised Hoy's "incredible courage".

"I send every good wish to Sir Chris Hoy and his family," he said.

"He has always inspired us by all that he has done. He is a person of incredible courage and that shines through today."

France's triple Olympic champion Florian Rousseau, speaking to AFP at the world track cycling championships in Denmark, said: "I am very touched, obviously, like everyone else.

"Because beyond being a sportsman, he is a gentleman, a true gentleman.

"He has never changed, he has one of the most beautiful track records, an icon in fact.

"I met him two days ago, we exchanged a few words... it's hard."

Edinburgh-born Hoy took up track cycling as a teenager and won his first Olympic medal, a team sprint silver, at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

- 'This is nature' -

Four years later, he became an Olympic champion by winning the one kilometre time-trial in Athens.

He increased his Olympic medal haul with three more golds at the 2008 Games in Beijing and another two at London 2012.

Hoy also won 11 world titles before retiring from competitive cycling in 2013.

"As unnatural as it feels, this is nature," Hoy, a father of two, added in his interview with The Sunday Times.

"A lot of deaths are sudden, leaving no chance to say goodbyes or make peace with everything. But I've been given enough time."

B.Clarke--ThChM