Victoria Pendleton's twin brother Alex has died aged 42, the Olympian announced today.
The British Olympic cyclist took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon (22 June) to break the news, adding that Alex will be ‘painfully missed by many’.
Victoria shared a picture of herself alongside her twin brother, the caption read: “Alex Pendleton 24.09.80 - 22.06.23
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"If you know me then you likely know my twin brother Alex, I just wanted to let you know that this morning Alex sadly passed away after an epic battle against an aggressive brain tumour.
"He will be painfully missed by many. Rest in peace my kind, brave twinnie, you will forever be in our hearts #twinner #betterhalfofme #heartbroken #missyou #wewillneverforgetyou."
People flooded the comments with tributes to Alex within minutes of Victoria’s post.
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Ben Fogle commented: “I am so so so sorry Vic. Sending you all my love.”
Gethin Jones wrote: “I’m so sorry Vic.”
Adam Thomas shared: “Thinking of you.”
While Dame Kelly Holmes shared: “I am so so sorry to read this Vic. Sending much love to you and family.”
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Alex was previously diagnosed with leukaemia however he was said to have made a full recovery.
Victoria took part in the reality show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2019 where she revealed she signed up for the gruelling challenge after being inspired by her brother and his diagnosis.
"It was diagnosed quickly and he’s with me today. I know many children and adults are not that lucky. I always feel very fortunate that I have him," she said.
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"I’m in debt to the doctors and nurses for giving him the treatment he needed."
Victoria represented Team GB at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 2008 Olympics in Beijing and in London in 2012.
As an Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion and with two Olympic gold medals and one silver, Pendleton is one of Great Britain's most successful female Olympians.
She has previously spoken openly about her mental health, revealing she had to abandon a charity climb up Mount Everest for medical reasons.
Her mental health deteriorated soon after. “It was an accumulation of so many factors that had got on top of me,” she told the Sun in 2020.
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“Everything in my personal life was out of control – there was this huge sense of loss from losing my sporting career, my marriage had broken down, the hypoxia…
"Each of those things individually might have been manageable, but together, I didn’t have enough to give. I wasn’t coping and I spiralled down and down and down into a place I didn’t think I could get out of, for about five months.
"I felt very frustrated because I was like: ‘I’m an Olympic champion – I should be able to get out of this myself.’”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
If you want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/victorilou/ Twitter/V_Pendleton