Pachel competed in a breaststroke double at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved FINA B-standards of 1:03.39 (100 m breaststroke) and 2:18.45 (200 m breaststroke) from the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. In the 100 m breaststroke, held on the first day of the Games, Pachel challenged seven other swimmers in heat six, including Australia's top favorite and former bronze medalist Phil Rogers. He rounded out a field to last place in his heat, but shared a thirty-second overall seed with Israel's Tal Stricker in a matching time of 1:03.99. Four days later, in the 200 m breaststroke, Pachel placed thirty-third on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat three, he picked up a third spot to overhaul a 2:20 barrier ahead of El Salvador's Francisco Suriano by almost half a second (0.50) in 2:19.71.