Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe (born 8 January 1993)
is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four
Summer Paralympic Games
The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...
from
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Early life
Born in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
on 8 January 1993 to Garry and Jo Pascoe, Sophie grew up on a
lifestyle block
A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...
near
Halswell
Originally a separate village, Halswell is now a residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southwest of Cathedral Square on State Highway 75.
History
Halswell is named after Edmund Halswell QC (1790–1874), a government offi ...
on the south-western outskirts of the city.
She has one older sister, Rebecca. On 23 September 1995, Pascoe was accidentally run over by her father on the family ride-on lawnmower. As a result of the accident, her left leg was amputated below the knee, while the rear of her right leg was left with severe scarring.
She attended Halswell Primary School,
and
Lincoln High School in the nearby Christchurch satellite town of
Lincoln.
Pascoe began swimming at the age of 7, and from the age of 8 up until 2022, was coached by
Roly Crichton.
She trains at the QEII swim club, which has been based at Jellie Park in
Burnside since the facilities at
Queen Elizabeth II Park were damaged in the
2011 Christchurch earthquake
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
.
Swimming career
Pascoe is classified
S10 S10 may refer to:
Automobiles
* Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck
* Nissan Silvia (S10), a sports car
* Toyota Crown (S10), a luxury car
Aviation
* Lake Chelan Airport, in Chelan County, Washington, United States
* Letov Š-10, a Czech trainer ...
for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, SB9 for breaststroke, and SM10 for individual medley.
At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Pascoe won a gold and a silver medal for the 100 m breaststroke and 100 m butterfly respectively and later a gold for the women's 200 m individual medley.
Pascoe then shared a gold medal for the 100 m backstroke when she drew with South African
Shireen Sapiro
Shireen Sapiro (born 25 January 1991 in Krugersdorp) is a South African Paralympic swimmer, most notable for her performance at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold medal for the 100 m backstroke. She also claimed a bronze medal at t ...
.
At 15 years of age, Pascoe was
New Zealand's youngest athlete at the Paralympics,
and the youngest ever New Zealander to win a medal.
Following the 2008 Paralympics, Pascoe was voted New Zealand's favourite Paralympian in a nationwide voting competition run by Mitsubishi Motors. For this she won a Mitsubishi VRX Outlander. Pascoe was made a Member of the
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
in the 2009 New Year's Honours, for her services to swimming. In February 2012, Pascoe became the inaugural winner of the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award at the 2011
Halberg Awards
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
.
At the
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
, Pascoe competed in six events – the four in which she won medals at the 2008 Paralympics, plus the 50m freestyle (S10) and 100m freestyle (SM10) events.
She successfully defended her 200 m individual medley (SM10) gold medal, breaking her own world record by four seconds with a time of 2:25.65. She also won gold medals in the 100 m butterfly (S10), where she bettered her silver at Beijing and in the process setting a new world record with a time of 1:04.43, and in the 100 m freestyle (S10), setting a new Paralympic record with a time of 1:00.89. Pascoe won silver medals in the 50 m freestyle (S10), 100 m backstroke (S10), and 100 m breaststroke (SB9).
In March 2013, Pascoe broke her own world record for the 50m butterfly at the New Zealand Swimming Championships in Auckland, setting a time of 29.21 seconds.
At the
2016 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 159
, athletes = 4,342
, opening = 7 September
, closing = 18 September
, opened_by = President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva
, events = 528 in 22 sports
, stadium = Maracanã
, sum ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Pascoe competed in five events, dropping the 100 m breaststroke SB9. She won gold medals in the
100 m backstroke, 100 m butterfly and
200 m individual medley, the latter in world record time. She also won silver medals in the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle, both behind Canada's
Aurélie Rivard
Aurélie Rivard (born May 14, 1996) is a Canadian swimmer. (search for "Rivard") After winning three Paralympics gold medals, claiming a silver Paralympic medal and setting two World Records and a Paralympic Record at the 2016 Summer Olympics ...
. Her 50 m freestyle medal holds the distinction as the 200th medal won by New Zealand at the Paralympic Games (both summer and winter editions). Her success took her gold medal count to nine and her total medal count to 15, overtaking
Eve Rimmer
Eva Marion "Eve" Rimmer née Davies (3 April 1937 – 23 November 1996) was a New Zealand Paralympic athlete. She was born in Whanganui, New Zealand and became one of New Zealand's greatest paraplegic athletes, winning 32 medals – including ...
's eight gold medals and 14 total medals to become New Zealand's most successful Paralympian.
At the
2020 Summer Paralympics
The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...
, she competed in the
Women's 100 metre breaststroke SB8, winning the silver medal, and
Women's 100 metre backstroke S9, winning the bronze medal.
In the
2022 New Year Honours
The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...
, Pascoe was promoted to
Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to swimming.
Personal bests
Major achievements
*2022: One gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (100 m freestyle)
*2019: Four gold medals at the
World Para Swimming Championships
The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...
in London.
*2018: Two gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (4x50m individual medley, 100m Breaststroke)
*2017: Winner of the ''
Halberg Award
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
'' for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year
*2016: Five medals at the 2016 Paralympics, three gold and two silver.
*2015: Winner of the ''
Halberg Award
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
'' for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year
*2014: Two gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (4x50m individual medley, 100m Breaststroke)
*2013: Winner of the ''
Halberg Award
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
'' for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year
*2012: Three gold medals (100 m freestyle-S10, 100 m butterfly-S10, 200 m individual medley-SM10); three silver medals (50 m freestyle-S10, 100 m backstroke-S10, 100 m breaststroke-SB9) –
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
(IPC) – Paralympic Games, London, United Kingdom; Winner of the ''
Halberg Award
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
'' for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year. Named as an ambassador for Beef and Lamb New Zealand.
*2011: Winner of the ''
Halberg Award
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
'' for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year
*2010: Gold medal (100 m butterfly-S10); three silver medals (50 m freestyle-S10, 100 m backstroke-S10, 200 m individual medley-SM10); bronze medal (100 m breaststroke-SB9) –
IPC World Championships, Eindhoven, Netherlands
*2009: Four gold medals (100 m backstroke-S10, 100 m butterfly-S10, 100 m individual medley-SM10, 200 m individual medley-SM10); three bronze medals (100 m freestyle-S10, 400 m freestyle-S10, 100 m breaststroke-SB9) –
IPC World Championships – 25 m, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*2008: Three gold medals (100 m backstroke-S10, 100 m breaststroke-SB9, 200 m individual medley-SM10); Silver (100 m butterfly-S10) –
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
(IPC) – Paralympic Games, Beijing, China
*2006: Bronze (200 m individual medley-SM10) –
IPC World Championships, Durban, South Africa
References
External links
*
archive
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascoe, Sophie
1993 births
Living people
New Zealand female swimmers
New Zealand amputees
Paralympic swimmers of New Zealand
S10-classified Paralympic swimmers
Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
World record holders in paralympic swimming
Paralympic gold medalists for New Zealand
Paralympic silver medalists for New Zealand
Paralympic bronze medalists for New Zealand
Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Swimmers from Christchurch
People educated at Lincoln High School, New Zealand
Paralympic medalists in swimming
Sporting dames
Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
20th-century New Zealand women
21st-century New Zealand women