Sophie Pascoe

Dame Sophie Pascoe DNZM is, quite simply, the most successful Paralympian that New Zealand has ever produced. Since exploding onto the world scene at the 2008 Games in Beijing, she has won 11 gold medals, seven silver, and one bronze at successive tournaments. She has also won 16 World Championship gold medals (long and short course) and enjoyed success at the Commonwealth Games, winning gold at every tournament since 2014. Among the awards she has received for her success are four Halberg Awards for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year. She was also made a Dame in recognition of her services to swimming in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Pascoe was born in Christchurch in January 1993. When she was two-and-a-half years old, a tragic freak accident occurred when her father ran over her with a lawnmower. As a result, her left leg had to be amputated and her right leg was left with severe scarring. Despite the trauma this caused to her, her devastated father, and her family, Pascoe has since described the accident as the “best thing that ever happened to her”. She began swimming when she was seven and was coached by former Paralympic gold medallist Roy Crichton, who remains her coach to this day. In 2008, aged just 15, she became the youngest New Zealand athlete at the Paralympics and, after winning three gold medals, the youngest-ever New Zealander to win a medal.

Since that incredible debut, Pascoe has been unassailable as New Zealand’s leading Paralympian.