Neil Fachie became the most successful Scottish athlete in Commonwealth Games history on Thursday, winning a record sixth gold medal at Glasgow 2026 in the men's tandem B 1,000m time trial.
The 42-year-old para-cyclist from Aberdeen, riding with English pilot Aaron Pope, stopped the clock at 1:00.162 at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Australia could not better the time, and neither could favourites Wales, who crossed the line in 1:00.546.
The gold took Fachie to six titles and one silver across his Commonwealth career, moving him clear of bowls legend Alex Marshall — and beyond Duncan Scott and Sir Chris Hoy — at the top of Scotland's all-time list.
What made the result remarkable was the context. Fachie had effectively walked away from the sport after the Paris Paralympics two years ago, spending his days working a nine-to-five job at Amazon and raising his three-year-old son Fraser with his wife Lora. He trains once a week, and only a home Games persuaded him to return.
"The last two laps of the race, he was all I was thinking about," Fachie told BBC Sport Scotland. "He was the motivation. Just saying his name over and over while I was seeing stars and ready to collapse was what I needed."
Pope, who had never ridden a tandem before this year, paid tribute to his partner. "He's obviously a good bike rider, but he's just a far better bloke," he said. "He's juggling his family, a full-time job, and he's still coming in every Wednesday, always giving me everything he can."
Fachie admitted the win was unexpected and hinted the meeting may be his farewell, with Saturday's tandem sprint likely to be the last race of his career. "I don't see any way I'm racing beyond Saturday," he said. "It is the end. There's no doubt."
There was more Scottish success on the opening day of the track programme when the women's team sprint trio of Lauren Bell, Iona Moir and Maddy Silcock beat Australia to take bronze in 47.185 seconds — a Scottish record they had already broken in qualifying, and Scotland's first team sprint medal in 16 years.
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