Neil Fachie

{{Short description|Scottish Paralympic multiple sports athlete}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor = yellow

| name = Neil Fachie

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}

| image = Barney Storey and Neil Fachie.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Barney Storey and Neil Fachie, 2010

| birth_name =

| fullname = Neil Fachie

| nickname =

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1984|3|12}}

| birth_place = Aberdeen, Scotland

| education = University of Aberdeen

| height =

| weight =

| website =

| country = {{GBR}}

| sport = Athletics
Cycling

| event =

| club =

| turnedpro =

| coach =

| worlds =

| regionals =

| nationals =

| olympics =

| paralympics = 2008
2012

| highestranking =

| pb =

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's para cycling}}

{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}

{{MedalCountry|{{SCO}}}}

}}

Neil Michael Fachie (born 12 March 1984) is a Scottish cyclist and former track athlete, competing in events for people with a visual impairment.{{cite web |url=http://www.paralympics.org.uk/gb/athletes/neil-fachie |title=Neil Fachie |publisher=paralympics.org.uk |accessdate=1 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831233115/http://www.paralympics.org.uk/gb/athletes/neil-fachie |archive-date=31 August 2012 |url-status=dead}} Fachie has competed in two Paralympics, as a sprinter in the 2008 Games in Beijing and as a tandem cyclist in London 2012. In London he won the gold medal in the Men's individual 1 km time trial and silver in the individual sprint, both with Barney Storey as his sighted pilot. Outside of the Paralympic Games, Fachie is a nineteen-time world champion and 5 times Commonwealth Games champion, creating tandem partnerships with Barney Storey, Pete Mitchell, and Olympians Craig MacLean and Matt Rotherham.

Career history

Fachie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1984. Fachie, who has a congenital eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, studied physics at Aberdeen University. There he took up athletics and at the age of 24 he qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, running in the 100m and 200m sprints.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/bio/40 |title=Neil Fachie |accessdate=1 September 2012}} After failing to take a podium place in either races in China, Fachie decided to change sports to cycling.

The strength Fachie had built up during his time as a sprinter was instrumental in impressing the Great Britain cycle coaches. By September 2008 he was training with the GB Para-Cycling Team and was part of the team by April the following year. In 2009 he entered the Para-Cycling Track World Championships, with Barney Storey as his pilot. The two took the Gold in both the Kilo and Sprint, setting a new world record in the Kilo. In 2011 Fachie travelled to Montichiari, Italy to compete in his second Para-Cycling Track World Championships. This time paired with Craig MacLean, he again achieved gold in both the Kilo and Sprint, setting a new world record in the Sprint.

Fachie entered his third Para-Cycling Track World Championships, this time held in Los Angeles, USA. His pilot in America again was Storey, who would team up with Fachie at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. The pair took the silver in the Kilo. That year, in the Paralympics, Fachie and Storey competed in the Men's 1 km time trial for riders with a visual impairment. The pair set a world record time of 1:01.351, and after team mates and main rivals Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean suffered a mechanical failure, took the gold medal.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/19448988 |title=Paralympics 2012: Fachie & Storey win tandem gold |accessdate=1 September 2012 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=1 September 2012}}

Fachie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to para-cycling.{{London Gazette |issue=60367 |date=29 December 2012 |page=24 |supp=y }}{{cite web |title=NY13-London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80169/NY2013-honours-London-2012.pdf |website=gov.uk |accessdate=8 January 2019}} In June 2013, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen by the Duchess of Rothesay.{{cite web |title=HRH The Duchess of Rothesay joins University 'family' |url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/details-13923.php |publisher=University of Aberdeen}}

Fachie teamed up with Pete Mitchell for the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The pair won the gold medal in the tandem 1km time trial, and broke the world record set by Fachie and Storey at the 2012 Paralympics by setting a time of 59.460 seconds, becoming the first tandem pairing to clock a sub-minute time for the kilo time trial.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/26998305 |title=Para-cycling Track Championships 2014: GB win two gold medals |last1=McDaid |first1=David |date=12 April 2014 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=12 April 2014}} They subsequently won a second gold in the tandem sprint.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/27018435 |title=Para-cycling Track Championships 2014: Storey wins second gold |last1=McDaid |first1=David |date=14 April 2014 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=14 April 2014}}

Fachie reunited with Craig MacLean for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where the pairing won double gold in the kilo time trial and sprint B tandem.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/commonwealth-games/28489947 |title=Glasgow 2014: Fachie & Maclean land cycling gold for Scotland |author= |date=25 July 2014 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=25 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/commonwealth-games/28503961 |title=Glasgow 2014: Second gold for Neil Fachie and Craig Maclean |author= |date=26 July 2014 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=26 July 2014}}

Fachie, piloted by Matt Rotherham, successfully defended his kilo time trial and sprint B tandem titles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia. In doing so he equaled the record for the most number of Commonwealth Gold medals. He shares the record of 4 golds with sprinter Allan Wells and lawn bowler Alex Marshall.{{cite web |title=Commonwealth Games: Scot Neil Fachie wins historic fourth gold |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/commonwealth-games/43680762 |website=BBC Sport |accessdate=3 January 2019}}

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Fachie won gold in the men's time trial B alongside Rotherham.{{cite web |title=Cycling Track – Men's B 1000m Time Trial – Results |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/resPG2020-/pdf/PG2020-/CTR/PG2020-_CTR_C73C_CTRMKILO----03031-----FNL---------.pdf |work=Tokyo 2020 Paralympics |publisher=Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games |date=28 August 2021 |access-date=10 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828131343/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/resPG2020-/pdf/PG2020-/CTR/PG2020-_CTR_C73C_CTRMKILO----03031-----FNL---------.pdf |url-status=dead}}

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to cycling.{{London Gazette|issue=63714|supp=y|page=B12|date=1 June 2022}}

In 2022 Neil Fachie won Scotland's first gold medal of the Commonwealth Games in the tandem 1 km time trial B event.{{Cite news |title=Fachie wins gold as Kenny helps England to bronze |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/commonwealth-games/62352472 |access-date=30 July 2022}} He also won a silver medal in the tandem sprint B event.{{cite web |title=Wales' Ball beats Fachie to tandem sprint gold |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/commonwealth-games/62369552 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=31 July 2022}}

Personal life

He is married to visually impaired English racing cyclist Lora Fachie.{{cite web |title=Fachie puts child plans on hold for Paras |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/53641295 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=18 May 2021}}

References

External links

[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/bio/Neil_Fachie Neil Fachie] at British Cycling
{{BPA profile}}
{{IPC athlete}}
{{Team Scotland|neil-fachie}}
{{2022 Commonwealth Games profile|60812}}

Category:1984 births

Category:Living people

Category:Scottish male cyclists

Category:British male cyclists

Category:Scottish track cyclists

Category:British track cyclists

Category:Paralympic cyclists for Great Britain

Category:Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain

Category:Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain

Category:Paralympic medalists in cycling

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Category:Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics