Glasgow 2026 'great way to go out', says Fachie

Scottish track cyclist Neil Fachie says the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow would be "a great way to go out" after being "drawn back in" to compete in a sport he thought he had left behind.

The 19-time world champion and Paralympic Games gold medallist will represent Team Scotland for the fourth time at this summer's event.

It is a return to top level competition for the 41-year-old, who seemed to have called time on his life on two wheels after winning a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

"If am honest I wasn't enjoying cycling in the same way," he told BBC Scotland.

"Following on from the Paris Paralympics I had an opportunity to go into full-time employment for a while and I thought it was a good chance to set up my career post-sport and that has gone well and they decided to keep me on full-time and I thought, 'well, maybe it is just time to switch over'.

"And the longer you don't train and you get a bit more out of shape you think, 'well, there is no way back from here', so I decided it was probably time to walk away and do other things and ensure I had a way to pay the mortgage and keep the lights on and I thought it was done and dusted.

"I don't really have anything else to prove in the sport, I think, which was also something that was there so I just thought, 'enough is enough, let's try other things and see what else you can do with your life'."

Fachie won double gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

With five gold medals and one silver, he is Team Scotland's second most successful athlete.

"Had it not been Glasgow I don't think I would have been going," he explained.

"Yes, I have been drawn back in, purely because Scottish Cycling asked the question and I love Team Scotland - I have loved every minute of every Commonwealth Games I have ever done so that was obviously a big big draw and I couldn't say no.

"The opportunity came up where questions were asked, 'could you make it back?' and I am still slightly sceptical as to what shape I will be in when I get there because I have not been in full-time training for a while but I couldn't say no because watching it would be fun but obviously being out there is a whole different game.

"I don't expect to be back in gold-medal winning shape necessarily but I am confident I can get back to being very competitive and hopefully be challenging for a medal, I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't going to do myself justice."

So, having been tempted back to the track, will Glasgow be the full stop on what has been a glittering career?

Fachie said: "I sometimes don't like those who say they are going to retire and come back and I don't want to be quoted and then something comes up but I cannot see how I am going to race again beyond this point.

"It is a great way to go out, right? It is home territory, a home team, where you have won before and you have had a great event – it just feels like the right opportunity to me."