Sophie Taylor (born 2 February 1996) is a former international swimmer who swam

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

. She won a gold medal for England in the women's 100 metres breaststroke at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Personal life

Sophie Taylor was born on 2 February 1996 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, Yorkshire. She lived in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in 2014.

Swimming career

Taylor trains at the London Aquatics Centre, where she is coached by Lisa Bates. At the Berlin International Swim Meet when Taylor 14 years old, (in 2010) she swam a personal best in the 100 metres breaststroke, and finished in third place to "show her potential". In 2012, her first domestic "breakthrough" was at the London held 2012 British Gas Swimming Championships, where she finished fourth. She soon performed at an international level, at the

2012 European Junior Swimming Championships The 2012 European Junior Swimming Championships were held from 4–8 July 2012 in Antwerp, Belgium. The Championships were organized by LEN, the European Swimming League, and were held in a 50-meter pool. Per LEN rules, competitors have age 15 or 16 ...

in Antwerp, Belgium. This was Taylor's first European Junior Swimming Championships, but she ended with a silver medal and a bronze medal, from the 50 metres breaststroke and the 200 metres breaststroke respectively. Taylor finished in third place in the 50 metres, 100 metres, and 200 metres breaststroke in 2013 at the British Gas Swimming Championships. Later in the year, at the

2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships The 4th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, were held on August 26–31, 2013, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simpl ...

, she won another bronze, this time in the 200 metres breaststroke, but coupled with two silver medals in the 4 × 100 m Medley Relay, and the 100 metres breaststroke. On 28 July 2014, Taylor won the women's 100 metres breaststroke at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with a time of 1 minute and 06.35 seconds, a "massive British record". She broke the previous record, which she had set herself. For much of the race Taylor was just behind leader Alia Atkinson, but a sprint in the last half length meant that Taylor finished first, Australian Lorna Tonks finished second, 0.99 seconds behind, and Jamaican Atkinson third, 1.79 seconds behind Taylor. On 17 July 2015Taylor pulls out of World Championships.
/ref> Taylor announced she was taking a break from competitive swimming, and withdrew from all events at the

2015 World Aquatics Championships The 16th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships (russian: Чемпионат мира по водным видам спорта 2015), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015. Russia host ...

. Taylor has not competed domestically or internationally since that date, and indicated she has retired from elite competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Sophie 1996 births Living people English female swimmers British female swimmers Female breaststroke swimmers Sportspeople from Sheffield Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming 20th-century English women 21st-century English women Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games