Biography

Cycling was not always Carlin’s sport of choice - but a nasty football injury, in which he fractured both his ankles, convinced the young Scot to take up a non-contact sport for recovery.

His mother spotted a flyer for local cycling club, the Glasgow Riders, and Carlin and track cycling never looked back. Not that it was plain sailing and the young Carlin’s injury jinx continued when he broke his wrist on his first track session although not even that setback could hold back his natural talent which quickly blossomed.

Carlin moved to Manchester to join the Great Britain Cycling Team Senior Academy and teamed up with fellow academy riders Owens and Joe Truman to form a formidable under-23 team sprint line-up - winning gold at the 2016 UEC Under-23 Track European Championships in Aigle, Switzerland.

With senior squad members on an extended break in the aftermath of the Rio Olympics, Carlin was selected for the elite UEC European Track Championships alongside Owens and Truman, with the trio taking an excellent silver in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France in 2016.

U23 success continues

Their good form continued through the following UCI World Cups - with a stunning gold medal in the team sprint in the 2016 opening round followed by another win in the second round, one week later in Apeldoorn.

The three young riders were back on the podium as the 2017-18 UCI Track Cycling World Cup season began in Poland - taking bronze in the team sprint in Pruszkow. A month later they Carlin went one better, winning team sprint silver at the third round of the World Cup in Milton, Canada - this time having teamed up with Phil Hindes and Callum Skinner. The following day, Carlin then closed out his 2017 with his first-ever individual medal on the elite world stage as he won bronze in the sprint.

Carlin's successes continued into 2018, winning his first world championship medal, a silver, at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn as part of a five-man team sprint squad alongside Kenny, Hindes, Owens and Truman.

Following that performance, Carlin turned to individual events - and produced a sensational performance to win silver in the sprint, beating Max Levy and Ed Dawkins on his way to the final, where Australia's Matthew Glaetzer took gold after a thrilling battle.

Carlin's solo success continued in Australia the following month - winning silver in the sprint for Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.