sport news EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Paralympic legends Neil and Lora Fachie open up on the ... trends now

The sun was descending rapidly around the skies of Rio as Neil Fachie was returning to his accommodation from the velodrome. Alongside him were his wife and fellow competitor Lora and cycling team-mate Corinne Hall.

It had been a good day. The UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships were underway and the trio had all been among the medals.

They had walked this route before; a 15-minute trek from the velodrome, on a road that was well lit and - apparently - secure. There was no reason to think that things would be any different that night.

As they approached a corner, however, the situation was to alter dramatically. Unbeknown to the three Paralympians, a group of criminals were waiting.

It was clear the athletes were vulnerable. Neil, who has the congenital eye condition retinitis pigmentosa, is rendered completely blind in the dark. Lora, meanwhile, lost her sight as a child - and works with Hall as her pilot when competing in para cycling events. They were, according to the Fachies, an ‘easy target’.

‘It happened after our tandem team sprint event,’ Neil told Mail Sport.

‘We got silver medals and were at the podium, and then we headed back from the velodrome to our hotel. It’s a pretty well-lit main road that was supposed to be secure. We were about 100m away from the hotel and there was this dark corner. Now, as its dark, I can’t see in the dark at all, and my sight is nothing at that point. I have a degenerative condition, so my whole life I haven’t been able to see in street-lit areas. I’m totally blind, and very visibly blind at that stage. At that point, where we were walking, it was a darker area. I could see absolutely nothing at all.

‘Suddenly, I was aware that some people had run in from my right-hand side and I heard Corrine scream and say: “Just take it, just take it”.

‘I was grabbed by my bag and flung to the side. I was detached from Lora, and she was very upset, as clearly she had no idea what was happening.

‘There were guys trying to get my bag off me, so I just let it go. I was aware Lora was really worried that I had been taken away. She had absolutely no concept of what was going on. I couldn’t see, so I didn’t know if they had weapons on them, all I know from discussions afterwards is that there were three of them.

‘The only time I saw anyone taking my bag was when I was being spun around and this guy ended up being silhouetted - so I could make out his figure, but I had no real concept of what he looked like. I just had this sort of awareness of them from the right-hand side, and it was hard to compute what was happening. One minute, I heard a scream and then I’m being flung around at 180 degrees and separated from everyone else. I’m quite proud of the fact that I realised quite quickly what was happening and took my bag off. It was on pretty tightly, and I don’t know what they would’ve done to get the bag if I hadn’t let it go.

‘Obviously, I was worried about Lora and I spent some time making sure she was okay once the guys were gone. Fortunately, she was fairly audible, so I was able to find her - and Corrine was with her, so that made it easier. Lora was pretty upset, so it took a while to get anything out of her. They didn’t touch her at all but, I guess, because she had been separated from both of us and was just fearing the worst, that made it far more difficult.’

Startled and shaken, the athletes quickly made their way back to their hotel. The Fachies insist security was supposed to be present on the night they were attacked. Rightly, they have questioned why this wasn’t the case. Mail Sport have contacted both the UCI and the event organisers for clarity on the situation, but failed to receive a reply.

‘There were supposed to be police around there,’ said Neil. ‘We were of the understanding that the route would be patrolled. There was a much bigger security presence after the incident. The irony is that, before every track event in Rio, there was a video showing which spoke about the safe environment for us to compete in. I found that pretty annoying - it wasn’t that safe at all’.

On the night, the Fachies lost all of their passports, Neil’s phone, wallet and other bits and pieces he had used regularly for cycling. Crucially, they had also lost their medals - won at the event they were still competing in. This, itself, was a blow. None of the medals were found. Mail Sport understands, however, that new one are now being engraved and will be given to the three riders once the engraving has been completed.

‘I’d packed my passports, phone, my wallet, medals we had just won and some cycling gear,’ said Fachie.