Sophie Pascoe

Sophie Pascoe (born January 8, 1993, Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand swimmer and the country’s most successful Paralympian, having won a total of 19 Paralympic medals. She has competed in four Paralympic Games, a major international sports competition for athletes with disabilities comparable to the Olympic Games. For Paralympic athletes there are 10 eligible impairment types—including limb deficiency, Pascoe’s disability—and athletes are divided into classes based on the impact the impairment has on the sport. Pascoe competed under the classifications S10 for freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly; SB9 for breaststroke; and SM10 for individual medley through the Rio 2016 Paralympics; and for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics she competed under the classifications S9 for freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly; SB8 for breaststroke; and SM9 for individual medley.

Early life, training, and the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships

Pascoe was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, the largest city in the South Island. She is a daughter of Jo and Garry Pascoe and has one elder sister, Rebecca. When Sophie Pascoe was 2 years old she was involved in a lawn mower accident, and the lower part of her left leg had to be amputated. She began swimming when she was 7 years old, and family members soon recognized her talent in the sport. By the time she was age 8 Pascoe was training with Roly Crichton, a well-decorated former New Zealand Paralympic swimmer, as her coach. At age 13 she participated in the 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa, her first international competition, and won a bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley.

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships

At age 15 Pascoe made a triumphant first Paralympic Games appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games. She was the youngest New Zealander to stand on the podium, after securing three gold medals—in the 100-meter breaststroke, 100-meter backstroke, and 200-meter individual medley—and one silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly. As a result of her performance at the Games, Pascoe was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit at the 2009 New Year’s Honours. She continued her winning streak when she competed in the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, winning a gold medal, three silver medals, and one bronze medal across the freestyle, backstroke, individual medley, butterfly, and breaststroke events.

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London 2012 Paralympic Games and other competitions from the early 2010s

In 2012 Pascoe returned to the Paralympic Games, this time in London, and had an even better showing than in Beijing. She earned three gold and three silver medals, with gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter freestyle, and 200-meter individual medley and silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, and 100-meter breaststroke. At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Pascoe won an astounding five gold medals, one for every event in which she participated. The following year she secured two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2015 Pascoe had another great showing at the World Championships, also in Glasgow, bringing home three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and becoming New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympian

At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil, Pascoe won 3 gold medals and 2 silver medals, with gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley and silver medals in both the 50-meter and the 100-meter freestyle. Her third showing at the Paralympic Games brought her Paralympic medal total to 15—9 gold and 6 silver. She consequently surpassed New Zealand Paralympian Eve Rimmer’s record of 14 medals (held in archery, athletics, and swimming events) to become New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympian.

Competitions in the late 2010s and postponement of the 2020 Paralympics

Between Paralympic Games, Pascoe brought home two gold medals from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held in Queensland, Australia, and four gold medals from the four events in which she participated at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London. The height of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, led to the postponement of the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo and a pause in Pascoe’s training due to restrictions. Pascoe later described the roller coaster of emotions she experienced that year, initially suffering from an identity crisis when she was not swimming and later struggling with depression when regulations were lifted and she hesitated to go back to a grueling training schedule. She recalled that during lockdown she found interests outside of the pool and went on to say, “I’d glimpsed getting to be Sophie around someone I really liked [referring to then boyfriend Rob Samson] and who liked me back. But I was wondering, How will Rob fit into my world if I go back to the way I know gets gold medals?” Working with her team, Pascoe eventually found a more balanced approach to her training.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and other events from the early 2020s

When the 2020 Paralympics were held in 2021 Pascoe had a strong showing, winning 2 gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter individual medley, 1 silver in the 100-meter breaststroke, and 1 bronze in the 100-meter backstroke. The 4 medals brought her Paralympic medal count to 19. After her success at the Games, Pascoe was promoted to Dame Companion as part of the 2022 New Year’s Honours. About this time Pascoe acknowledged that she was beginning to think about her future away from the pool, considering a career in fashion. She had previously taken several courses at Hagley College, Christchurch, toward that goal. Although Pascoe continued to compete—taking home a gold medal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England—she experienced a number of changes during this time. The first of these was parting ways with her longtime coach in 2022 after Crichton took on a new role for the swimming organization Swimming New Zealand. The following year Pascoe married Samson, and a couple of months later she announced that they were expecting their first child.

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Awards and autobiography

During her swimming career Pascoe received numerous awards, including the Halberg Award for Para Athlete of the Year six times as well as the award for Para Athlete of the Decade in 2020. Pascoe released an autobiography, Stroke of Fate (2013; with Tony Smith), which focuses on her family and on her dedication to becoming the most successful Paralympian in New Zealand history.