Record-breaking Paralympic star Aileen McGlynn is to retire from cycling after a career which saw her reach the top of the sport.

The three-time Paralympic champion announced on Tuesday she would quit the sport but said that, despite hanging up her skinsuit and tubulars, she now wants to get out on her bike for fun.

Aileen, 49, who has been partially sighted from birth, added: "I've been doing this for 20 years and at some point you've got to move on and do other things.

"I feel like I've achieved everything I wanted to in cycling, the opportunity to come back and do a really good time in Tokyo and win a silver medal, I could have finished my career at that point."

The Paisley-born cyclist's final competitive foray actually came at last year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where she represented Team Scotland and bagged silver and bronze in the tandem sprint and tandem 1k time trial.

"I'm pretty pleased and proud of what I've achieved," she added. "I'm particularly pleased that I've carried on to the age of 49 and broken down barriers in terms of age.

"I came back faster, stronger and with better power numbers in 2021 in Tokyo, so I've proved myself, I've proved my longevity.

"I'm also really pleased with the world records I've set in the past and the medals I've won at Paralympic level – three gold, three silver and a bronze. I'm really happy with what I've done and the experiences I've had."

During her time cycling competitively, Aileen competed right across the world in a career she describes as "life-changing."

She also earned an OBE for services to disability sports.

It would have been a very different career if Aileen had not joined the Glenmarnock Wheelers at the age of 18, where she combined cycling with studying for a degree in Mathematics, Statistics and Management Science at the University of Strathclyde.

Going on to ride for Johnstone Wheelers and the Royal Albert Cycling Club, Aileen's promise started to develop into world-class performances, none more so than her first world record set at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, where she would take gold in the 1km time trial and silver in the individual pursuit, alongside pilot Ellen Hunter.

And she did this while working as a trainee actuary in Glasgow.

Aileen will continue to be a property landlord – a role she has had since 2013.

"That has given me the flexibility to carry on with my training, whilst still earning a living, so that's basically what I'll continue to do," she said.

"I want to go out and enjoy riding my bike for fun now, with cycling holidays and things like that.

"I also want to do other things and I've already planned a couple of skiing holidays."