FACHIE Lora

Classification
B1 (UCI, 29 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (britishcycling.org.uk, 25 Jun 2012)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (britishcycling.org.uk, 25 Jun 2012)

Impairment Details
She was born with a hereditary sight condition which resulted in her losing her vision at age five. She can only distinguish between light and dark. The condition also affects her mother and two brothers. (so-altrincham.com, 12 Jan 2017; britishcycling.org.uk, 25 Jun 2012)

Guide
Corrine Hall, GBR (bbc.co.uk, 12 Jun 2021)

General
NUTRITION AND COACHING
She began to become interested in nutrition and coaching after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "After winning gold in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, shortly followed by my marriage to fellow successful Para cyclist Neil Fachie, I started to look to the future and make some plans as to what I will do when the time comes to retire from sport. I signed up to study with Future Fit [personal training, nutrition and Pilates company] to become a nutritional adviser. My aim was to not only understand my own personal nutritional requirements better, but to be able to help others do the same. Neil and I have also set up our own company, LNF Coaching, where we use the lessons and insights learned from the world of elite sport to help individuals and businesses achieve greater success." (blindinglygoodfood.co.uk, 11 May 2020)

FOOD BLOG
She writes a food blog called 'Blindingly Good Food' where she shares recipes and techniques that aim to help people with impairments have the confidence to cook in a safe manner. "Three years ago I was going through a bit of a bad patch in cycling and was very seriously considering retiring. I was getting very little enjoyment from it and as a result, my mood was very low. I went to speak to our performance lifestyle advisor, Ben, to explore my options. Ben sat me down and got me to think about what it was that did make me happy. The two things I came up with were my dogs and food. One chat led to another and we decided to explore starting up a food blog. I never considered writing before. I mean, I hate writing, however when it involves food it just seems so much easier. Suddenly I had a purpose again, I had something to think about that wasn't cycling related, and something that made me smile. My aim is to showcase my love for food, what I eat as an elite athlete and how I adapt recipes and cooking techniques in order for me to be able to do them safely. I believe that not being able to see what I am eating has enhanced my ability to distinguish tastes and enjoy different flavours and textures. Too many people with disabilities these days lack confidence in the kitchen, but I hope to demonstrate that it is not difficult to navigate yourself around a kitchen to prepare quick and simple, nutritious meals with very little skill involved." (fightforsight.org.uk, 16 Jul 2020; britishathletes.org, 07 Apr 2021)

FAMILY PLANS
The postponement of the 2020 Paralympic Games forced her to consider her plans of having a child with husband Neil Fachie. She has decided to put her family plans on hold in order to compete at the Games in 2021 but says it was a difficult decision to make. "For me, initially I wasn't sure whether I could commit to another year. I did really have to question it, because I'm aware I'm not getting any younger unfortunately and I do have other hopes for my life - we have hopes to start a family. When you work in four-year cycles you make plans, and then goalposts move and it was suddenly, 'Can I postpone that for another year and if that's the case how will that impact on other decisions I make?' So at the start [of lockdown] I didn't know what I was doing." (bbc.co.uk, 04 Aug 2020; Fair Play: The Women in Sport show podcast, 30 Jul 2020)

DEALING WITH COVID PROTOCOLS
As a person with a visual impairment, she says she struggled to deal with certain COVID-19 protocols and restrictions, such as social distancing, and had to rely on other people giving her space. "I generally do all my grocery shopping online so at the start of lockdown that was really scary because I couldn't get any delivery slots or anything. We have ventured into a cafe for a coffee and we went to one we're very comfortable with and we know. But for me especially, I use a guide dog and a guide dog doesn't understand social distancing. So I'm completely reliant on other people around me to respect the distance and unfortunately some people don't. Like