Sir Jason Kenny and Dame Laura Kenny admitted that they had mistakenly ignored an email offering them honours.
Following their success at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Team GB’s cyclists were added to the New Year’s honors list.
Jason, aged 33, won the seventh Olympic gold medal in the keirin in Tokyo. Laura, 29 took her fourth through the madison. This brings their total to 11.
These couple are among 78 Paralympians, Olympians and Olympians who were honoured for their contributions to sport. They have become the first husband-and-wife to receive knighthoods and damehoods on the same list.
They laughed when they discovered that they were being offered knighthood and damehood.
The Mirror spoke to ITV about the admissions by the couple. Sir Jason also admitted they had forgotten the original email invitation.
Sir Jason (left) and Dame Laura (right) Kenny revealed they accidentally ignored the email that offered them their New Year’s honours
‘You get sent an email, don’t you?’ “You get sent an email, don’t you?” Dame Laura stated.
‘And, you are supposed to respond to this email. But neither one of us ever replied to the email.
Jason laughed and said, “We got mixed up with the dates because I received a parking ticket simultaneously. I had to pay it before the 14th…” We got confused about our responses dates.
After their victory at the Tokyo Olympics, they were knighted and made dames.
He then said that they’d received confirmation by phone and joked about how he didn’t want to leave the Queen or Prime Minster waiting.
Jason joked that they finally confirmed their attendance as they did not want to keep the Queen or Prime Minister waiting
He stated, “So we made a call. It was hilarious.”
“The lady at the end of the conversation was extremely kind and asked if we could let you know about the situation before the weekend, as we have to inform the Prime Minister (and the Queen) about it.”
“I was like… well, it is best not to leave them waiting!”
Laura expressed her disappointment at the mix-up, but said that she was proud to have been recognized for the effort they had made on the track.
She said, “Every time that we step onto the track it’s because it’s to attempt and win a gold medal,”
“Any other award is something you don’t strive for, but it shows people appreciate the effort you put in to the track.
“It’s just incredible to have been recognized for it. In your dreams of becoming a lady or a man, you never imagined that.