"It was like a rock show" Fachie on London 2012

On the night of the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony - with competition looming and teammates competing the following morning - I was fast asleep in bed. But I vividly remember being woken up when the fireworks went off and thinking that World War III had broken out. The ground shook and I leapt up, my heart rate going like the clappers. Of course Barney Storey, my roommate and tandem pilot, was still sound asleep. The Games were officially underway, but even at that point I didn’t believe they were going to be as big, as memorable and as utterly insane as they turned out to be.

Four years earlier, at Beijing 2008, I had spoken with the volunteers about how great those Games were. “But you guys in London are going to do something incredible,” they said. Being a cynical Scot I thought there’s no way, Beijing had invested so much money. What could be better?

I wasn’t racing on the first day, but I decided to go down to the velodrome to sample the atmosphere – and my word it was packed. As soon as a British rider went anywhere near the track the noise from the crowd was just huge. You’d heard about it during the Olympics but to actually be there and feel it - it was like a rock show, you couldn’t speak to the person next to you.

Two days later, it was my turn. I was racing in the tandem 1km time trial, the first event of the day - so warming up, the velodrome was empty. But gradually the spectators arrived until it was completely full. As I walked up on to the track the announcer said my name and there was just a huge roar. I tried to focus on my race, but all I could do was grin.

The race is four laps of the track, you’re the only bike on the track, and the clock counts down to the start. When the clock hit zero I was in the zone - I’d forgotten about everything else, I was just focused on performance. But when the bell rang for the final lap, all I could hear was the crowd. It was a reminder to dig as deep as I could. When I crossed the finish line and heard the announcer say ‘new world record’ I couldn’t hold back the golden celebrations, pointing at and applauding the crowd; milking it for all it was worth.

The following day we won sprint silver, which capped off an amazing couple of days. But it was really the aftermath that brought home how special the Games were. We had time to go and watch our ParalympicsGB teammates compete, and for the next few days we were essentially living like rock stars. Security guards escorted us to venues around the Olympic Park because the crowds were so massive. You signed an autograph or took a selfie and suddenly another 50 people appeared. It was crazy.

As home athletes, the support was incredible. The public were right behind British Paralympians, while for the Paralympic Movement, the step up in television coverage was a whole new level. Disability was put in the spotlight and it provided a real opportunity not only to showcase Paralympic sport, but to put disabilities out there on television, in the public eye where people were happy to start asking questions. With so many athletes with different disabilities achieving amazing things, conversations opened up and role models were made.

But there’s always more that can be done.

Participation in disability sport has vastly improved – if I think back to when I started in 2005, numbers were definitely lower, but there are still struggles. We need people to be able to find their way to sports more easily – is access to grassroots sport good enough? Do children with disabilities feel that they can take part in sport? I believe sport is for all, but I think there are still barriers in the way for those with disabilities who want to do sport. London 2012 was the catalyst for change – but we need to keep the conversations going, turn the spotlight up on disability and inclusion - from sport to the workplace. We need to show that 10 years on, London 2012 really was a memorable moment for so many reasons.

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