“I was pretty much an alcoholic and I decided that I was a failure,” said Shanaze Reade, recalling how quickly her life changed after her cycling career ended in 2017. The former British BMX star had already suffered two Olympic heartbreaks, crashing in the final at Beijing 2008 before finishing sixth at London 2012. Sixteen years after making her Olympic debut, Reade is now taking on a new challenge in a different sport. But her journey back to competition came after a much darker chapter, as the end of her cycling career led her into a battle with alcoholism. After overcoming addiction, the 38-year-old has found a new reason to return to sport.

Reade has now taken up boxing and hopes to compete in her first bout in the new year. Speaking to The Times, she explained that the sport initially caught her attention as a way to inspire young people. “It’s interesting, because it started off just to try and inspire some kids and for my sobriety birthday. But I really like boxing and want more out of it!” she said. “That’s the addict in me.” Interestingly, her move into boxing comes nearly nine years after her cycling career came to an end.

Reade’s journey in sport began when she was just 10 years old, after she took up BMX riding and quickly showed her talent. By the age of 17, she had become Britain’s number one female BMX rider. Her rise continued in 2006 when she won the junior BMX world title. A year later, she moved into the elite category and claimed her first senior world championship. She successfully defended her BMX title in 2008 and won it again in 2010, establishing herself as one of Britain’s leading riders.

With several world titles behind her, Reade arrived at the Beijing 2008 Olympics as one of the favourites for the first women’s BMX Olympic gold medal. She was in contention for a medal in the final but crashed while trying to pass France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson on the final bend. Chausson went on to win gold, while Reade was left heartbroken.

She returned for the London 2012 Olympics hoping to put that disappointment behind her. However, she finished sixth in the final, missing out on another chance to reach the podium. Despite her success at world level, an Olympic medal remained out of reach. Reade continued competing after the London Games.

In 2013, she won the first two rounds of the BMX Supercross World Cup before a knee injury forced her to withdraw from the rest of the season. She continued trying to reach her previous level, but further injuries, particularly problems with her shoulders, began to affect her career. She underwent several operations and eventually missed out on qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics. It meant she would not get a third chance to compete for an Olympic medal.

Her career reached a turning point in 2017 when she lost her place in British Cycling’s elite programme. After several shoulder operations and concerns about her ability to return to top-level competition, the organisation decided not to continue her contract. British Cycling announced her retirement on April 21, 2017, but Reade later made it clear that she had not chosen to walk away from the sport.

“British Cycling said that I’d retired, but I hadn’t. They ‘retired’ me,” she told The Times. “So they took away my voice, and I had to go along with it. And then Monday morning rolled round, and I was like, ‘What am I going to do? How the hell do you fill 24 hours, let alone a week?’”

For someone who had spent most of her life training and competing, losing that routine suddenly was difficult to handle. Reade struggled to adjust to life outside professional sport and began drinking to escape the disappointment and emotional pain. What started as social drinking gradually became a serious addiction. Reade became increasingly isolated, and her drinking reached around a litre of vodka a day.

She later described alcohol as her best friend and admitted that she had withdrawn from society. Her experience was especially difficult because she had grown up seeing the damage alcoholism could cause through her father. She had always wanted to avoid following the same path, but eventually found herself facing that very struggle. But then came a point when her addiction reached a level where she feared for her life.

Shanaze Reade recalls alcohol-fuelled health scare during Disney world visit

The darkest period of Reade’s life came in 2017, when she was staying in Orlando, Florida. By then, her drinking had become severe, with the former world champion consuming around a bottle of vodka a day. Her health was rapidly deteriorating, and she began experiencing seizures, hallucinations and severe sweating. She was also coughing up bright green material mixed with blood and feared that she might not survive.

One incident at Disney World made her realise just how much alcohol had changed her appearance and health. Reade recalled developing a severe rash across her body during the visit, while comments from children around her made her look at herself differently. “I remember I was in Disney World, I was 19½ and I came out in this severe rash all over my body. Alcohol was poisoning me,” Reade, now 38, told The Times.

She knew she needed help, and after returning from Florida, she began taking steps towards recovery. Reade had already met someone through Alcoholics Anonymous named Rob, who later agreed to become her sponsor. His support helped her begin the difficult process of getting sober. On November 7, 2017, she stopped drinking, marking the start of a recovery journey that has lasted almost nine years. She has since spoken about how taking recovery one day at a time helped her rebuild her life.

Getting sober did not mean everything immediately returned to normal. Reade gradually worked on rebuilding her confidence and finding a sense of purpose outside alcohol. In 2018, she returned to cycling training and eventually made her way back into competition. She later won the British National Track Championships team sprint title alongside Blaine Ridge-Davis in January 2019.

Reade also hoped to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but she did not make the team. Although another Olympic appearance did not happen, her return to cycling marked an important step after everything she had gone through. She later turned her attention to coaching and supporting young riders, eventually establishing the Shanaze Reade Academy in Crewe.