As the most decorated New Zealand Paralympian in history, no person has done more to shift the needle of the Paralympic Movement in Aotearoa New Zealand than Paralympian #166 Dame Sophie Pascoe DNZM.
During a glittering career spanning more than 20 years, the incomparable Christchurch-based Para athlete secured a record-breaking 19 Paralympic medals including 11 golds, 17 world titles, five Commonwealth Games gold medals and set multiple world records.
Yet Dame Sophie has been far more than simply a champion Para swimmer. Outside of the pool, her resilience, humility and fierce competitive spirit have shone like a beacon, while her tireless work to support inclusion and equality in sport form a huge part of her trailblazing accomplishments.
Raised on a lifestyle block in the Christchurch suburb of Halswell, Dame Sophie was involved in a lawnmower accident aged two and became a below the knee amputee. Yet from the outset, Dame Sophie never let her disability define her.
“I remember playing on the trampoline in the garden, spending a lot of time outdoors,” she recalls. “I was an active kid growing up, a bit of a go-getter.”
Close to her sister Becky, who was nine years older, she was also grateful to have the support of her loving family.
“My parents always encouraged me to find a way and never let my disability hold me back,” she says. “My parents worked long hours, and I also spent a lot of time with my grandparents. I’m grateful I had family that never saw my disability, they just saw Sophie.”
Learning to swim in the 33.3m pool at Halswell Primary School, Sophie recalls beating a non-disabled friend in a swimming race at the age of seven as a significant moment.
Instilling in her the confidence to believe she had a talent for swimming she recalls: “I can’t really say whether I enjoyed the feel of the water, but I really enjoyed the feeling of racing and winning.”
Keen to improve, it was her good fortune she was introduced to Paralympian #49 Roly Crichton ONZM and Paralympian #4 Graham Condon QSM who were impressed by her talent.
“After watching me swim Roly said, ‘we believe you have the talent to one day represent New Zealand’. Of course, as a sports mad seven-year-old who dreamed of representing New Zealand I leapt at that opportunity and signed up to join the QEII Swim Club the next day.”
Possessing a fierce competitive instinct and fuelled by a dream to represent her country on the biggest stage, Dame Sophie recalls as a ten-year-old telling her grandfather, John, that one day she would win a Paralympic gold medal.
Under Roly’s coaching guidance she thrived. The only swimmer with a disability in the group, she was never treated differently to any of the other athletes.
“Roly had a huge influence on my success,” explains Dame Sophie. “I was with him for 19 years. He gave me the opportunity and acknowledged I had a talent. He was tough on me, but that was good. I started at the back of the group, and I had to work my way up to get in the leading lane. I was always challenged by him. He really instilled that fight and grit in me. I was not going to get away with short cuts. I knew from a young age it was going to be hard, but I was up for the challenge.”
Another pivotal moment arrived in 2006 when she was fast-tracked on to the New Zealand team for the IPC World Swimming Championships in Durban, South Africa. Aged just 13 at the time she was expected to be a long-term prospect for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, but Durban was to rapidly change the trajectory of her career after she won an unexpected bronze medal in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10.
“I remember travelling to Durban along with Daniel Sharp (Paralympian #153) and Cameron Leslie (Paralympian #164 MNZM) for the international exposure when I was surprisingly put in the fastest lane of the 200m IM which was a mistake based on my seed time. The fluke of the mistake and being in lane four (the middle lane), and understanding where my competitors were around me, helped in the road to winning bronze.”
On the back of winning bronze, she was suddenly thrust into a high-performance environment. Supported by HPSNZ she was being guided as a future Paralympic champion.
Fuelled with confidence and belief at the age of 15 she spectacularly delivered on her Paralympic Games debut at Beijing 2008. Securing triple gold in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB9, Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 and Women’s 100m Backstroke S10, as well as silver in the Women’s 100m Butterfly S10, the Lincoln High School student became an overnight star.
“I came into those Games as the unexpected but came out of it as the expected,” she recalls. “I was fortunate I loved the sport, and I also recall making some adult decisions at 15. I didn’t celebrate with the rest of the team. I was always cautious and never wanted to put myself in a position where I would look bad. I always wanted to have integrity and inspire the next generation. I had that mindset from a young age.”
It was an attitude which would serve her well. As Dame Sophie continued to rack up gold medals and world records, she went into the London 2012 Paralympic Games with a different level of expectations.
With her nana Yvonne Goodman – who was born in London – in attendance, she describes London 2012 as like a “Home Games”.
Winning three gold medals in the Women’s 100m Freestyle S10, Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 and Women’s 100m Butterfly S10 – the latter two in a world record – as well as a trio of silver medals in the Women’s 50m Freestyle S10, Women’s 100m Backstroke S10 and Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB9 – was an outstanding effort, and one she reflects on with pride.
“I was aged 19, more mature, wiser and such a fierce competitor,” she recalls. “I did everything I could to win at those Games. To have my family and nana there made it really special. I achieved all that I wanted to and more, but I had defeats which I learned from as well. I gained a lot of confidence after London.”
In 2013 she achieved her most successful World Para Swimming Championships to date winning five gold medals in Montreal followed by a pair of Commonwealth Games gold medals at Glasgow 2014. Naturally, given her ongoing success, the Kiwi Para swimming great faced high expectations leading into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Yet with characteristic poise and class, Dame Sophie once again delivered, taking gold in a world record in the Women’s 200m IM SM10, additional golds in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S10 and Women’s 100m Butterfly S10, and silver medals in the Women’s 50m Freestyle S10 and Women’s 100m Freestyle S10.
Rio 2016 was to prove a milestone moment for the Cantabrian as she was to surpass Paralympian #13 Eve Rimmer BEM as the most decorated ever New Zealand Paralympian, but as much as there was immense pride in the accomplishment, Dame Sophie reflects on some other cherished memories.
“We had some younger athletes on that team, and I became more of a leader in Rio,” she says. “I believed I showed that through performance. It was a special Games, and it was after arriving home I realised how much I could influence the Paralympic Movement back here in New Zealand.”
Intending that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games would be her final Games, she set the ambitious target of four gold medals in four world record times. Winning double gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – where she was also flagbearer for the New Zealand Team – she maintained her fine form in early 2020 when setting a world record in a World Series event in Melbourne.
Yet shortly after her impressive performance in Melbourne the pandemic was to strike, and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were postponed. It proved a hugely challenging time for Dame Sophie, who found for the first time in her life she was struggling with a lack of purpose. Swimming on “auto-pilot” she was later diagnosed with clinical depression.
Open about her mental health challenges, wellness rather than performance outcomes became the focus in the countdown to the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021.
“I was encouraged to keep swimming while I was working on myself for health reasons,” she explains. “The goals were now going to be a little different (than four Paralympic gold medals and four world records). I had less time in the water, and I explored some external training through other avenues while maintaining a high level of fitness. Yet throughout, the understanding was that my wellbeing was the most important thing.”
“I had a lot happen in the final few months leading into Tokyo,” explains Dame Sophie. “Roly got sick and couldn’t go, so Matt Ingram stepped in as my coach. I was very lucky to have such a great support team. I also came down with RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) – which I was really fretting about because I thought at first it was Covid. I just felt ahead of Tokyo, I was constantly treading on eggshells. As a result, all my goals and expectations went out of the gate.”
Despite the challenging build up, Dame Sophie – a flagbearer for the NZ Paralympic Team (NZPT) in Tokyo – climaxed her Paralympic career in style by adding four further medals to her Paralympic collection, winning gold in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM9, Women’s 100m Freestyle S9, silver in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB8 and bronze Women’s 100m Backstroke S9.
“Even though the races (in Tokyo) were physically not the best, I was still successful,” she explains. “I was really proud and grateful for the whole journey.”
Tokyo was not quite the end game for Dame Sophie. She had always intended to part ways with long-time coach and mentor Roly following Tokyo 2020 and decided to carry on competing, connecting with a new coach, Brent Naylor. Rediscovering “a new love for swimming” she went on to compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the Women’s 100m Freestyle S9.
The youngest person to ever be appointed a Dame – in the 2022 New Year’s Honours – she became a mum in 2024, the same year she revealed her impressive versatility by co-presenting the TVNZ coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Formally retiring from competitive Para swimming in early 2025, Dame Sophie leaves a huge legacy not only in terms of her stunning accomplishments in the pool, but also her impact outside of the pool as a disability advocate.
“Performing well at pinnacle events has allowed me to change the narrative,” she says. “I’m proud of changing that image for my father, who went through the accident with me at the age of two. For my family, who don’t see me as a disabled daughter, but a Paralympic and world champion, but most of all they had a daughter who has been successful and achieved her dreams.”
“It is through this platform that I’ve created the relationships to gain more knowledge and work together with people with a disability. I hope to continue to play a part in the Paralympic community. That is my avenue, my voice now.”
