The partner of Rab Wardell, Olympic hero Katie Archibald, paid an emotional tribute to the mountain bike rider following his sudden death at the end of last month.
Wardell, just two days after becoming the Scottish Cross Country Champion, fell into a cardiac arrest whilst in bed alongside Archibald. The Olympian desperately tried to resuscitate her partner while the paramedics also did what they could, but unfortunately he tragically passed away.
And on Wednesday, a funeral was held for the 37-year-old at Dunfermline Crematorium - with hundreds gathering for the service.
At the funeral, Archibald told the service how Wardell would go out of his way to help his friends and family.
“He might have always arrived late, but Rab would never leave a friend who needed it,” she said.
Archibald also recalled Wardell telling her that he loved her for the first time while they were out cycling together.
She recalled: “I was aghast, I said ‘you can’t say that here, in the rain, on a bike ride’. After chastising his timing, I told him the truth, that I loved him too.
“From then on I told him that every day. In some ways it’s a comfort that Rab knew how much I loved him."
Archibald also told mourners that when they weren't together, he would send her love songs, and a recording he sent to her of himself playing You Can Talk To Me was broadcast at the funeral.
In the recording, Wardell could be heard saying: “So I had this funny idea to sing you this song”, before saying the “downside for me is it’s all a little high for me, so I will strain and sound silly at some bits, but I’m not scared”.
Mourners then laughed near the end of the song when Wardell could be heard swearing as he admitted it had not been very good.
The Very Reverend Hunter Farquharson, who conducted the service, told Archibald: “I didn’t know you were going to keep that bit in.”
Following Wardell's heartbreaking death, Archibald took to Twitter to bravely open up about the tragic circumstances.
She said: “I think you've heard that Rab died yesterday morning. I still don't understand what's happened; if this is real; why he'd be taken now - so healthy and happy."
Revealing her attempts to try and save Wardell, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner added: "He went into cardiac arrest while we were lying in bed. I tried and tried, and the paramedics arrived within minutes, but his heart stopped and they couldn't bring him back. Mine stopped with it. I love him so much and need him here with me.
"I need him here so badly, but he's gone. I can't describe this pain. Thank you to those making tributes. I can't bear to talk about him in the past tense to say anything myself. You mean everything to me, Rab. I love you."
