Neil Fachie won his sixth Commonwealth Games gold medal at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow on 30 July 2026, making him the most successful athlete in Team Scotland history. His victory in the men's tandem B 1000m time trial — an event for visually impaired cyclists riding with a sighted pilot — also delivered Scotland's first gold of the 2026 Games and set a new Commonwealth record. Glasgow 2026

Fachie, 42, had planned these Games as a farewell. He was done with cycling. This was meant to be the last ride. BBC Sport

It very nearly wasn't.

Fachie and his pilot Aaron Pope crashed during the race. Fachie called it a "little slide." He was battered and bruised. He told BBC Sport Scotland: "Adrenaline is a wonderful thing." BBC Sport

He did not feel much pain at the time. What he felt was anger. Pope walked him away from the scene before, in Fachie's words, he "said something he shouldn't say." The crash, Fachie said, was like "poking a bear."

Before the race, Fachie had told Pope: "The story's written here, let's finish it off." After the crash, that line carried rather more weight.

Fachie and Pope chased down their opponents and reached the line in a neck-and-neck finish, Fachie edging out a rider named Bell — who, according to Yahoo Sports, was para-cyclist Ball claiming silver. Yahoo Sports Fachie said there was no way anyone was getting past them. With the crowd roaring, he knew they had it.

He crossed the line, released his grip on the handlebars, raised both arms and pounded his chest.

Pope, the pilot who had kept Fachie upright long enough to win, said they had one race to give Fachie "the fairytale ending." BBC Sport

The ending was fairytale enough. Fachie's six Commonwealth golds span a career that began at the 2014 Glasgow Games — the same velodrome, the same city — where he and pilot Craig MacLean won two golds. He doubled up again at the 2018 Gold Coast Games with pilot Matt Rotherham, defending both titles. At Birmingham 2022, piloted by Lewis Stewart, he won gold in the time trial and silver in the sprint, becoming the second most successful Commonwealth Games athlete in Team Scotland history. Team Scotland

Now he is the first. The sixth gold, won on the track where it all started, moved him past every Team Scotland athlete who has ever competed at a Commonwealth Games. Team Scotland

Fachie, who was appointed OBE, finishes his career with six golds and one silver from seven Commonwealth Games rides. Not a bad way to say goodbye.