Katie Archibald retires from cycling to pursue nursing career full-time

Katie Archibald walked away from elite cycling for a nursing career she said she had “fallen completely in love” with, ending a 13-year international run that delivered two Olympic titles and a silver medal. The 32-year-old retired with immediate effect on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, two years before LA28 and before another tilt at the sport’s biggest stage.

Her decision lands hard for Team Scotland, which named Archibald in December 2025 as one of the first cyclists selected for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, alongside Mark Stewart and Lauren Bell. For a home Games built around familiar names and proven medal chances, losing Archibald removes one of the strongest anchors in Scotland’s track program.

British Cycling said Archibald’s career produced 51 medals across Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth competition, including seven world titles and a record 21 European titles. Her résumé includes Olympic gold in the women’s team pursuit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the first Olympic women’s Madison title in Tokyo in 2020, won with Laura Kenny. She also claimed Commonwealth bronze in the points race in Glasgow in 2014, then added gold in the individual pursuit and silver in the points race at Gold Coast 2018.

Archibald’s exit comes after a difficult stretch marked by injury. She missed both Birmingham 2022 and Paris 2024, yet returned to win team pursuit world gold at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow and retained the title in 2024. British Cycling said she retired as a current world and European champion and as part of the women’s team pursuit squad that held the world record.

The move into nursing was already under way earlier in 2026, when Archibald enrolled as a nursing student at Glasgow Caledonian University. She said her time with the Great Britain Cycling Team had been “a true honour” and that she wanted to live the life she had been “saving for a rainy day”, adding that she had no fear she would miss the sunshine. British Cycling credited her with defining moments for the women’s endurance squad and with being an advocate for cycling, particularly for women and girls, leaving behind a record that stretches far beyond medals.