Is retiring Archibald Scotland's greatest female athlete?

Is Archibald Scotland's greatest female athlete?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Katie Archibald is looking forward to stepping away from the public eyeByClive Lindsay, Amy MacBeath & Tyrone SmithBBC Sport ScotlandPublished13 May 2026Katie Archibald admits she has even surprised herself by choosing to retire when she is still a current world and European champion.And at a time when she had already been selected for a Commonwealth Games in her home city, on the velodrome where she learned to race a bike. But as the 32-year-old leaves the sport to pursue a career in nursing while at the top of her game and as one of Britain's most decorated track cyclists, where does it place her in the list of great Scottish female athletes? Archibald retires from cycling after falling 'in love' with nursingPublished2 days agoArchibald's achievementsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Katie Archibald picked out a victory with Neah Evans as one of her career highlightsOver her 13-year career, Archibald has amassed an incredible 51 medals at world, European, Commonwealth and Olympic level, individually and as part of a team. That haul includes two Olympic titles and a silver medal, Commonwealth gold, seven world titles and a world-leading 21 European titles.Yet she left it late in her teens to follow older brother John - himself a British champion - into professional cycling having initially taken it up for the social aspect. Having been invited on to the British women's track endurance squad in 2013, Archibald won the European team pursuit title in her senior competitive debut alongside Laura Kenny, Dani Rowe and Elinor Barker and she has never looked back.However, despite all the major titles, when asked about her own career highlights, Archibald picked out her first major solo medal - a bronze in the Commonwealth Games points race in Glasgow 2014.Her other personal highlight came 10 years later, in 2024, winning the madison with Neah Ev...