Paralympic Games: Fachie rules out Rio reunion with fellow Scot MacLean

NEIL Fachie may have lost out on a second London 2012 title to his former co-world record holder but he insists any reunion with fellow Scot Craig MacLean would be temporary, claiming he wants to pursue double gold with 
Barney Storey at Rio 2016.

Fachie and pilot Storey, 28, got the better of MacLean – and his partner Anthony Kappes – by default in the final after they suffered a technical failure to capture his first Paralympic gold medal in the kilo on Saturday.

But 24 hours later, when the two British pairings locked horns in the sprint final, it was Kappes and MacLean who prevailed in the best-of-three final, having set a new world record in qualifying, surpassing that which Fachie held with his fellow Scot.

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When the dust settles on London 2012, thoughts will turn to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and both Anglo-Scottish pairings will almost certainly revert back to their previous partners. But Fachie was adamant that any attempts to upgrade his London 2012 gold and silver to double gold in Rio will be done with Storey, a three-time Paralympic champion.

“Barney and I have ridden very well here together. I’m sure there’s room for improvement but if he wants to ride to Rio then I’d love to ride with him and go and aim for two golds – I’d happily ride with him any day,” said Fachie.

“It was great, to get both the GB teams in the final was the goal and on a personal level, to guarantee gold and silver is fantastic – that was always the goal, to get both pairs into the final and fight it out between us.

“The goal in the sprint was just to get to the final and see what we could do and we did and we achieved what we came to do, two medals is unbelievable.”

Kappes and MacLean edged a closely fought race in the best-of-three final but romped home in the second, appearing to catch Storey and Fachie napping before blitzing into an unassailable lead.

Fachie revealed, however, that there had been a minor collision that had taken the wind out of his and Storey’s sails and while he believes they were capable of levelling the scores, he’s not complaining about his weekend’s work in the velodrome.

“The collision was a bit of a shame because it would have been a really equal finish I’m sure. But the thing is, those guys were better than us today and they really 
deserve their gold medal,” he added.

“After their disappointment they really showed what they can do. I absolutely would have taken gold and silver before the start of the Games. Just to have one gold is just a dream come true.”