Let’s find out “What Is Neil Fachie Eye Condition & Disability: Is He Blind?” Scottish paralympic athlete Neil Michael Fachie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on March 12, 1984.
This athlete, who is visually impaired, participates in a variety of individual visually impaired sporting competitions. Additionally, Fachie competed in two Paralympic events as a sprinter in the 2008 Beijing Games and as a tandem cyclist in the 2012 London Games.
In London, Fachie won the gold medal in the men’s individual 1 kilometer time trial as well as the silver in the individual sprint competition with Barney Storey serving as his sighted pilot.
He also has a World and Games record of winning both Time Trial and Sprint at Gold Coast 2018 with pilot Matt Rotherham in Sprint qualifying and a Games record in the Time Trial. Moreover, Neil also made a ‘double double’ gold medal in both events at Glasgow 2014 with pilot Craig MacLean.
Is Neil Fachie Blind?
Neil Fachie, an athlete by profession, suffers from a congenital eye condition and retinitis pigmentosa.
Congenital eye conditions are a group of various conditions present from birth and could affect eyesight. Also, some of these conditions are passed on through genes, while others could result from disease or deficiency during pregnancy.
Likewise, Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare eye diseases that affect the retina. This disease makes cells in the retina break down slowly over time, leading to vision loss.
A 36-year-old Scot had a degenerative eye condition that made him use public transport, and while others were returning to the track to the velodrome, he had to stay home as he could not practice social distancing.
What Is Neil Fachie Eye Condition & Disability?
Neil Fachie, although suffering the retinitis pigmentosa, is more than ready to smash all the records and win more medals for his country.
A fourteen-time world champion is very excited to participate in the Commonwealth game 2022, which is set to begin on July 29, 2022. He is ready to bring home as many gold medals as possible as he won Scotland’s first gold medal of the 2022 Games.
In the last game, he won the men’s tandem B 1,000m time trial and secured his first gold medal this year. Also, he is practicing very hard for the upcoming Commonwealth game, hoping to get more medals in that game as well.
From all this competition preparation, it can be said that Neil’s eye condition is excellent, and he is taking good care of his eyes as he has the games lining up for this year. Also, his parents are supporting and guiding him on his path to becoming a renowned para-athlete worldwide.
Neil Fachie’s Wife Lora Fachie And Kids
Neil Fachie is the husband of a visually impaired English racing cyclist Lora Fachies who competes in para-cycling tandem road events.
Lora is also a double world champion, winning the title with pilot Corrine Hall in the tandem road race and 1 km time trial event. She also suffered from a hereditary vision loss issue and lost her eyesight when she was five years old.
Neil and his wife both won the gold medal in the Paralympic track cycling at the Izu Velodrome on August 28 in Tokyo. In this competition, he won 1000m time trail B with a time of 58.038sec breaking his own World record of 59.278 sec, which was set in 2019.
An hour later, Lora also won the gold medal in women’s 30000m individual pursuit B setting a new World record of 3:19.483 along the way. As can be seen in the picture, the couple is very happy to win a gold medal and set a new world record.
The couple announced they were expecting their first baby as Lora is now six months pregnant. Also, due to Lora’s pregnancy condition, she is not participating in the upcoming Commonwealth competition for the first time since 2009.
