SALUTING SUPER SOPHIE
Enjoy it while you can: Powerhouse of pool deserves all the accolades as she represents NZ with distinction
Don’t take Sophie Pascoe for granted. In an era where pundits and fans around the world have doled out the title of “Greatest of All Time” to roughly 571 athletes in just as many subcategories, the Kiwi swimmer has earned her spot among them.
Looking at greatness under the microscope of success in one’s field, Pascoe is an untouchable entity in the New Zealand sporting landscape. Despite her fifth last night in her final event of the Tokyo Paralympics, the 100m butterfly, she has an impressived medal count of 47 at major competitions. Of those, 19 have been won at the Paralympic Games — 11 of which have been gold, which sees her join fewer than 40 athletes to have won 10 of more gold medals at the Summer Games.
That level of success in itself is remarkable; her story adds to that.
Pascoe’s first gold medal at a major international competition came in 2008 at the Beijing Paralympic Games.
Before that, she had won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley (SM10) at the World Championships in Durban in 2006.
In 2008, Sophie Pascoe was 15 years old. And she didn’t come home with one gold medal, but three, and a silver, in her debut campaign. A year later, Pascoe was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours, for services to swimming.
In 2011, Pascoe was named the inaugural Para-Athlete of the Year at the Halberg Awards; a category one could argue was set up to give her the national recognition she deserves given she has won the gong in six of the nine years it has been awarded. Holding several world records and in her fourth Paralympic Games, Pascoe continues to bring home the hardware, adding to her record-setting haul and furthering her legacy as one of our greatest athletes.
In the pool and outside it, Pascoe has been a superb representative for the country. Dominating in the pool, starring in television adverts, modelling, and other endeavours have seen Pascoe in the public eye for almost half of her life and she has handled herself well in all situations — comfortable or uncomfortable as they may have been.
She has also been an inspiration for many young athletes — one example being fellow Tokyo competitor Tupou Neiufi, who claimed the country’s first gold medal in this year’s Games when she won the S8 100m backstroke.
Now 28 years old, Pascoe’s story is far from written but it is one we may not see again for some time — if ever.
There are few athletes out there who can reign at the top of their sport for as long as Pascoe has, even fewer in the environment of the Games as the competition gets stronger and faster with every cycle.
Who’s to say if she will carry on through to the 2024 Games in Paris given the rigours of this event?
While you can, enjoy and celebrate the achievements of someone who has spent their adult life representing the country to the highest standard.