Aberdeen para-cyclist Neil Fachie has revealed he was “mugged” in Rio after competing in UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Brazil.
The 40-year-old had just won a silver medal in the tandem team sprint in Rio de Janeiro.
He was competing alongside his wife Lora for the first time, while their one-year-old son Fraser is also with them in Brazil.
The Fachies along with pilots Matt Rotherham and Corrine Hall qualified second fastest with a time of 50.723 seconds behind Italy.
In the gold medal race they were unable to overcome the Italians, finishing 0.375 seconds behind the winning time of 50.122.
But the Aberdonian revealed that after leaving the arena, they had their passports, bank cards, cash and their medals stolen.
He wrote on social media: “We were mugged tonight in Rio, so sadly I’m not contactable by phone for a little while.
“We’re all okay, other than being shaken up.
“Passports, cards, some cash and our silver medals were all stolen. A sad way to end the day.”
We were mugged tonight in Rio, so sadly I’m not contactable by phone for a little while. We’re all okay, other than being shaken up.
Passports, cards, some cash and our silver medals were all stolen. A sad way to end the day.
— Neil Fachie OBE (@neilfachie) March 21, 2024
A spokesperson for British Cycling said: “British Cycling can confirm that three riders had their possessions stolen while returning to team accommodation after day one of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
“The three riders are safe and well and are being supported by our staff both on the ground and at home.
“We have raised the matter with the UCI, the local organising committee, and the police.”
Fachie will be aiming to win his 20th world title in the coming days when he defends his tandem B kilo and tandem B sprint titles.
In the build-up to the event, he said: “My priority is the 1km time trial. If I want to be in Paris (for the Paralympics later this year), I need to perform well in that.”
Fachie, who has a congenital eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, won gold at the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Games and silver when the Paralympics were held in Rio in 2016.
