A trio of Scots have made the short trip across the channel to the French capital, and with six Paralympic Games, and eight Paralympic medals between them, Jenny Holl, Fin Graham and Neil Fachie OBE will be hoping to return home with a bit of extra weight in their hand luggage.
Double silver medallist from Tokyo, Fin Graham will be the first of the trio to take to the boards, both he and Jenny Holl in action on Friday 30th August, the second day of the Games. Graham will line up in the Men’s C3 3000m Individual Pursuit, his favoured event, with all eyes on taking gold this time around.
Speaking ahead of the trip to France, he said:
“After Tokyo, coming away with two medals, I really wanted to make the step up. To win four World titles the next year, and then Glasgow – I still get goosebumps racing in front of a full velodrome and in front of a Scottish crowd.
“Worlds was like a dry run for Paris, as we have track into road, which it’ll be at the Paralympics, and it went well, so hopefully the good results will keep coming.”
Graham will also contest the Kilo, as well as the Time Trial on Wednesday 4th September and the Road Race on Saturday 7th.
Holl will attempt a very similar schedule, and just like Graham, will be hoping to upgrade the two medals she won in Tokyo to gold in Paris.
The former Stirling BC rider also kicks off her Parisian campaign on Friday 30th, lining up in the Women’s B Kilo, for tandems, with stoker Sophie Unwin. That pairing only came about a few months before Tokyo, but have gone from strength to strength ever since, winning three World titles at home in Scotland last summer, demonstrating they are a formidable force.
They will also ride the 3km Pursuit on Sunday, before switching their focus to the two road events. On their goals for Paris, Holl confessed:
“It’s been something we’ve talked about constantly for two years. Everything we’ve looked at has been this is for Paris, looking ahead to Paris, when we’re in Paris! The wins we’ve had in the interim have been amazing, and I wouldn’t change them for the world, but they’ve all been with the focus on Paris.
“Tokyo was probably the perfect first Games for us. I was super new to the tandem and Sophie was super new to cycling in general. So to have a Games where we didn’t have a crowd, external pressure – it was a Games but there was less pressure and stress. Now we’ve got to do it up a level.”
Neil Fachie needs no introduction. Arguably the most successful Scottish Paralympian of all-time, the 40-year-old powerhouse will be aiming for a fifth Paralympic medal, and will be defending the title he and tandem partner Matt Rotherham won in Tokyo three years ago.
Since then there have been further World titles – the count now stands at 21! – and a solid training block this summer, which points to success on Sunday 1st September.
On their preparations, Fachie said:
“Matt’s training well and has that Games focus and is looking forward to it as much as I am. We’ve been such a strong partnership over the years, and in Tokyo we probably surprised ourselves with how well we went. Matt’s hitting PBs in the gym, and so am I, and that usually converts well to the track, and will hopefully mean quick times in Paris.
“It’s a nice velodrome, the track is fast, and I raced out there at the Worlds in 2022 and got a couple of wins. We know the French crowd will be big, but hopefully we’ll have a lot of GB fans too, given it’s so close. It’s a strong team from GB, so I think it’ll be a great Games. It might be my last, it might not, but let’s try and get a medal to show for it.”