Olympic cycling winner Katie Archibald admits ‘everything still sucks’ as she recounts her struggles after her partner Rab Wardell died last year fighting to save his life

Olympic champion Katie Archibald has admitted that ‘everything is still s***’ ahead of the UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow, following the death of her partner Rab Wardell last year.

Wardell tragically passed away last August at the age of 37 after going into cardiac arrest while in bed at their home in Glasgow.

Archibald had tried to resuscitate Wardell, who had won the Scottish Cross Country Championship just two days earlier.

Paramedics arrived within minutes, but were unable to revive Wardell.

In an interview with the TelegraphArchibald said she constantly replays the events surrounding Wardell’s death in her head.

Archibald wants to honor Wardell at the UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow

The two-time Olympic champion admitted that ‘everything still sucks’ ahead of the home event

“I think he has something stuck in his throat and I offer him a glass of water, and eventually he stops panting and I call 999,” Archibald said.

The ambulance arrived in nine minutes. I learned that the target time is apparently seven, which surprises me. And the UK average is nine, which blows my mind.

“They tried for an hour. In that hour I began to imagine “What will our life be like now?” But never for a moment did I think it would be over.

“That whole sequence is constant.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion revealed she had considered quitting the sport due to a series of injuries.

This included sustaining a broken back, a concussion, a broken collarbone and two sprained ankles in accidents.

Archibald said that prior to his death last year, Wardell had played a key role in encouraging her to continue her career.

The 29-year-old, who won gold for Team GB at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, admits she doesn’t expect to perform at her best at the upcoming World Championships in Glasgow.

Wardle, who represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, had been an official adviser in Glasgow’s bid to hold the multi-disciplinary World Cycling Championships.

Archibald, left, said she hopes the World Championships will be a chance for people to talk about Wardell among the sport’s legends

Archibald said “everything is still shit” ahead of the home event, which starts on Saturday.

“The past few weeks have been terrible. I can’t explain it,’ said Archibald.

“It’s like the fatigue gets to a point where you, I assume everyone has been through this, where if stage one is like your legs are a little sore, stage two is you feel it’s hard to get out of bed, and stage three you lose your language skills a bit.

“Stage four is you’re just constantly crying.”

Archibald revealed she wants to honor Wardell at the World Championships, the first to include track, road, BMX and mountain bike racing in a single edition of the event.

Wardell, who lived in Glasgow and represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, had served as official adviser to the bid.

“It’s not just a world championship for me,” Archibald said. “It feels so much bigger. Bigger than any Olympic Games. Bigger than anything I’ve ever done.

“Rab loved this sport. He loved the legends of this sport.

“These world championships, and the conversations around them, I think are an opportunity for people to talk about him as one of those legends.”