Jason Kenny: Calls for knighthood for Olympic champion

There have been calls for Jason Kenny to be knighted after he became Great Britain's most decorated Olympian.

The cyclist, 33, is the first Briton to win seven Olympic gold medals following his defence of the men's keirin title.

Residents in his Bolton hometown are among those calling for a knighthood.

Alex Devany, headteacher at Kenny's former school Mount St Joseph, said: "We think he definitely deserves a knighthood alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Bradley Wiggins."

She praised the cyclist's "resilience, humility and extremely calm manner".

"We are immensely proud of all his achievements and we have thoroughly enjoyed watching him thrive and succeed over the years since he left school in 2004 - from Beijing back in 2008, then in London, Rio and now Tokyo," she said.

Jason and Laura Kenny have won a total of 12 Olympic gold medals

In total, Kenny has won nine Olympic medals, including a silver in the team sprint earlier this week.

His keirin victory saw him edge past his mentor and former team-mate Sir Chris, who has six golds.

Kenny said the tally was "really special", adding: "I have been racing every race like it is my last, just trying to survive really."

• Team GB match London 2012 medal haul

• Laura and Jason Kenny - Team GB's golden couple

• Tokyo Games close with upbeat ceremony

His wife Laura, who is the country's most successful female Olympian, missed out on a medal in Sunday's omnium race after recovering from a crash.

A leisure centre in Bolton is named after him and the town has a post box that was painted gold in his honour after London 2012.

Residents have joined calls for a knighthood and a public homecoming, with one saying: "He's done absolutely amazing and he's done Bolton proud."

A post box in Bolton was painted gold during London 2012