Sporting legend Sir Bradley Wiggins has been declared bankrupt and could be forced to hand over his medals and trophies as his financial difficulties continue to mount.
Wiggins, who retired from the sport in 2016 after a decorated career, has racked up huge amounts of debt with numerous business ventures over the years.
Wiggins Rights Limited, a company owned by Wiggins, his former wife Cath and his mother Linda, entered liquidation in 2020 with debts amounting to £650,000.
Just two years later, the 44-year-old bankrupt sporting legend was placed in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement to help him pay off creditors, including HM Revenue & Customs.
However, by November last year, the debt had spiralled to almost £1 million, in part due to an outstanding director’s loan which Wiggins previously disputed.
With little progress made in the months following, Wiggins has now officially been declared bankrupt, according to The Times, after a hearing at Lancaster county court on June 3.
The cyclist had already put the rights to the trademarks of his own name, ‘Wiggins’ and ‘Wiggo’, up for sale but a trustee will now be appointed to seize Wiggins’ assets and help pay back debts.
That could mean the Englishman has to hand over Olympic medals and Tour de France trophies and even his Sports Personality of the Year award.
Wiggins is yet to comment publicly on the latest developments.
What did Bradley Wiggins win during his career?
Over a lengthy career, Wiggins became one of the most decorated cyclists in British history.
Winning his first Olympic medal at the 2000 Sydney Games, he went on to win seven further medals, including five golds.
In 2012, Wiggins’s crowning achievement came at the Tour de France when he claimed the Yellow Jersey to become the first Briton to ever win the race. He followed that up just months later by winning gold in the Road time trial at the 2012 London Games.
Such achievements saw Wiggins win that year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and receive a knighthood in the 2013 New Years Honours.
He came back four years later to win his final Olympic medal – yet another gold – in the Team pursuit in Rio de Janeiro before retiring in December 2016.
What has he done outside the sport?
Having retired from cycling, he began making the transition into indoor rowing with one eye on competition for Britain at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, such aspirations never came to fruition, with Wiggins announcing in 2018 that he would no longer be training professionally for the sport.
The former cyclist has embarked on a number of other careers since retiring. He undertook a degree in social work at the Open University, while he also briefly funded a professional development cycling team – Team Wiggins – to help bring through the next generation of riders.
What other sports stars have been declared bankrupt?
Unfortunately, sporting stars declaring bankruptcy is not uncommon. Living lavish lifestyles after their careers have ended is one major cause of the issue.
Speaking to The Times, Paul Rouse, head of client services at the accountancy firm Forvis Mazars, said: ‘As you would expect, those involved in elite sport are often focussed solely on their primary goals of winning titles and striving for sporting excellence.
‘Professionals will surround them to advise on the financial benefits that follow that success, and they would be wise to ensure that their chosen advisors are trustworthy, and that they are safeguarding their client’s long-term position.’
Former Premier League footballers Craig Bellamy and Wes Brown were declared bankrupt in recent years, while tennis star Boris Becker was ordered to hand over his Wimbledon trophies after his bankruptcy in 2022.