From retirement to record-breaker: Track cycling great becomes Scotland's most decorated Commonwealth Games athlete

This was a fairy-tale moment for a legend of the sport who had already cemented his place in Commonwealth history. A tearful Fachie watched on as the saltire was hoisted aloft and Flower of Scotland rang out for the first time on the opening night of Track Cycling at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. No Scottish athlete has won more medals than the 42-year-old.

Scotland's most decorated athlete, who suffers from sight condition retinitis pigmentosa, wasn't even supposed to compete here. The 19-time World champion and four-time Paralympic Games medallist had to be coaxed out of retirement to return to top-level competition after calling time following a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

He has been working as a strategic marketplace consultant for Amazon since late 2024, but the temptation to compete at a home Games led him to get back on the bike and juggle training with family and work commitments.

"Advanced is definitely the word!" Fachie exclaimed when asked how it felt at this stage of his career to add to his already impressive medal haul. "I had essentially retired after Paris. I walked away from cycling, so I was debating whether this was going to happen or not. If it hadn't been a home Games, I wouldn't be here. It's the only reason I thought 'let's try, go say our farewells.'

"I genuinely didn't expect to be winning a gold, I never thought that would realistically be on the radar. So this is incredible. One of those memories I'll never forget; home crowd, national anthem playing, a gold medal with a guy that's just a really good mate. It doesn't get any better than that."

Tension heightened after rival mishaps

Back in the saddle and with his family, including three-year-old son Fraser, watching, Fachie and Pope navigated qualifying with relative ease. Their moment in the spotlight, however, was delayed somewhat dramatically when rivals Kenya and Nigeria both suffered major mishaps on the start line as the chain on both bikes slipped off, requiring restarts in the process.

This only heightened the tension inside the Velodrome, especially with Welshman James Ball, Fachie's long-time rival, yet to race. A battle of the ages had broken out between the pair in recent years, with Fachie often holding the upper hand.

Fachie and Pope received a massive roar as they set off on their 1,000 metre lung-buster, one of the most gruelling events on the programme. Just over a minute of maximum pain.

They were flying at the midway mark and never looked back. Thousands of spectators rose to their feet as Fachie punched the air in delight and blew kisses to the crowd, knowing a formidable time had been set.

"It's hard not to get emotional," Fachie added. "That was special. I don't think there are words for it. Having my son here, to be honest, for the last two laps of the race, he was all I was thinking about. He was my motivation. I was just saying his name over and over whilst I was seeing stars and it was just what I needed. Giving him a big hug after was the best feeling."

Fachie will return for one last hurrah in the Men’s Tandem B Sprint on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Scotland clinched bronze in the Women's Team Sprint Finals, beating Australia with a time of 47.185.