Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy praised his mother as he was knighted at Buckingham Palace - as she was honoured with an MBE for an outstanding career in nursing.
Sir Chris, 33, won gold in the team sprint, men's sprint and the Keirin in Beijing, making him the first Briton to win three golds at one Olympics in 100 years.
His mother Carol Hoy, a retired 61-year-old nurse, is recognised as one of Britain's top nurses dealing with sleep-related illnesses and received her honour for a career spanning more than 28 years.
The Edinburgh-born cyclist said: "I heard about her MBE before I heard about my knighthood and I was so delighted.
"It's just such an amazing thing to happen to her because she's worked so hard all her life.
"There are so many people like my mum who normally don't get recognised. It's people like her who dedicate their lives to their work and it's great this is acknowledged."
Speaking of his own honour, he added: "Being knighted is the furthest thing on your mind when you compete at something like the Olympics.
"You train for your whole life and all of your sporting career to try and win gold medals and become the best at what you do.
"If you're fortunate enough to do that, an accolade like this is completely unexpected and such an amazing honour when it does come along."
