LONDON (AP) — Olympic champion cyclist Chris Hoy has criticized a media story about his financial affairs as being misleading and defended his record as a British taxpayer.

The Guardian reported that Hoy received an interest-free loan in 2010 from a company he set up, describing the practice as a "cunning but completely legal tax wheeze."

Hoy said in statement on Saturday that the loan was repaid in full last year through dividends that were taxed "at the highest rate."

The Scot says his "financial affairs are transparent and in the public domain" as he takes his "responsibilities as a taxpayer as seriously as I do as an athlete."

Hoy won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, becoming the first Briton to achieve the feat in a single Olympics since 1908.