Data In Sport: Headline Keynote Panel Announced

Sir Chris Hoy MBE, multiple world and Olympic champion track cyclist, was born and raised in Edinburgh. He is one of Great Britain’s most successful Olympic athletes, with six gold medals and one silver. Chris won his first Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 in the Kilo – an event that was dropped from the programme for Beijing 2008. Chris took this in his stride and switched his focus to three other track sprint events – the Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint. He went on to win a gold medal in all three at the Beijing Olympics, cementing his name in the history books.

Following his historic hat-trick of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Chris was voted 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He was also awarded a Knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours list, capping an extraordinary year for the track cyclist from Edinburgh. In 2012 at his home Olympic Games in London, Chris won his fifth and sixth gold medals – in the Keirin and Team Sprint – becoming Great Britain’s most successful Olympic athlete of all time with six gold medals and one silver.

Rebecca Adlington OBE made her Olympic debut in Beijing and went on to win both 400m and 800m freestyle events. It saw her become the first woman to take swimming gold for Great Britain in over forty years and the first in a century to secure two wins at a single games. After a successful club career Rebecca joined Team GB aged nineteen and travelled to China for the 2008 Games. Following her sensational double-gold win, during which she broke the World 800m record, she went on to take Commonwealth and World Aquatics 800m gold shortly afterwards.

At the London 2012 Games she added to her medal tally with two bronze medals. When Rebecca retired from competition, she combined a media career with work for charities and schemes to promote swimming and sport in general. Her Swim Stars programme aims to ensure every child in the country can swim 25m before starting secondary school, whilst Becky Adlington Training focuses on developing swimming teachers.

In 1992, Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE won the Gold Medal at the Barcelona Olympics with partner Sir Steve Redgrave, this was the beginning of a long partnership as the outstanding pair took winnings at seven World Championships, and gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.

In August 2000, Pinsent took part in a 3-part BBC documentary entitled ‘Gold Fever'. This followed the coxless four team made up of Redgrave, James Cracknell and Tim Foster, in the years leading up to the Olympics. After the 2000 Sydney win, Matthew formed Coxless Pair partnership with James Cracknell. Undefeated throughout 2001, they broke the world record by 4 seconds. Matthew was elected to the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission in 2001.

Matthew announced his retirement from rowing in 2004 and was made a Knight Bachelor later that year. He had already been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and was raised to Commander. He was awarded the coveted ‘Thomas Keller Medal' by the International Rowing Federation in 2005.

Clare Balding is an award-winning broadcaster and author. She has worked on every Olympic Games since 1996 and on every Paralympics since 2000. Clare won BAFTA’s Special Award for her work on London 2012 and continues to present major events in sport, factual documentaries, and Royal events, including commentary of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee for BBC One.

A passionate campaigner for equality and women’s sport, Clare is also a best-selling author of numerous book and children’s novels. In June 2022, it was announced Clare had been awarded a CBE for her services to Sport and Charity which she was honoured to receive at Buckingham Palace in December 2022.