New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympian, Dame Sophie Pascoe, has decided that it’s time to hang up her goggles. Pascoe, 32, announced her retirement from competitive para-swimming Thursday on social media.
“This decision marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in my life,” she wrote, “one defined by perseverance, passion, and an unwavering pursuit of excellence. Wearing the silver fern and representing New Zealand on the world stage has been the greatest honour of my career. More than the medals and the records, my greatest achievement has been proving that having a disability does not define a person.”
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Pascoe’s career in the pool extended more than two decades. During her four consecutive appearances at the Paralympic Games from 2008 to 2020, she won 19 medals, including 11 golds. She owns 20 medals from the long-course World Championships, seven from the short-course World Championships, and currently holds six long-course para-swimming world records.
Speaking to NewstalkZB, Pascoe called her retirement a “natural evolution.” She sat out the 2023 World Championships while pregnant with her son and decided not to attend the 2024 Paralympics as an athlete. However, she was on the broadcast for the Games, and Pascoe said that opportunity “really helped” her make this decision. “I felt really content sitting behind that desk and sharing what great athletes we have and still enhancing the Paralympic movement.”
In her retirement announcement on social media, Pascoe made it clear that while she is finished with this phase of her career, she still hopes to be involved in swimming. She wrote, “I am deeply committed to giving back to the sport that gave me so much…this isn’t goodbye, it’s just the start of a new way to make a difference.”
Pascoe debuted on the international scene at 11 and quickly climbed the ranks, winning bronze in the women’s 200 IM SM10 at the 2006 World Championships when she was 13. Two years later, she was New Zealand’s youngest athlete at the Beijing Paralympics, qualifying for the team at 15. She added another mark in the history books by becoming the youngest Kiwi to win a medal at the Paralympic Games, as she won gold in the 100 backstroke S10, 100 breaststroke SB9, and 200 IM SM10. She added a silver in the 100 butterfly S10, bringing her total to four medals at her first Paralympic Games.
Pascoe continued to excel after her debut Games, breaking world records and earning medals at the long-course and short-course World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games. She swam six events at the London Paralympics, claiming three gold medals, two of which were in world record time. In addition to defending her 200 IM SM10 gold from Beijing with a world record, she won the 100 butterfly S10 with a new world standard. Her third gold came in the 100 freestyle S10, and she also picked up three silver medals.
The accolades began to stack up for Pascoe outside the pool as well. She was inducted into New Zealand’s Order of Merit in 2009 for services to swimming. At the 2011 Halberg Awards, which honor New Zealand’s top athletes annually, she was named the inaugural winner of the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award, which she would go on to receive multiple times.
Pascoe achieved another triple gold at the Rio Paralympics, along with earning silver in the 50 and 100 freestyle events. Her success in Rio brought her total to nine Paralympic gold medals and 15 career Paralympic medals, surpassing Eve Rimmer as New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympian. Pascoe further increased her total at the Tokyo Games, winning two golds (100 free S9, 200 IM SM9), one silver (100 breast SB8), and one bronze (100 back S9).
For her achievements, Pascoe served as New Zealand’s flag-bearer at the 2020 Paralympic Games. She was named a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to swimming in 2022.
