Sophie Pascoe Radiates Joy as She Continues Her Reign as New Zealand's Most Successful Paralympian

Before Sophie Pascoe even got in the pool at the Tokyo Paralympics, she was already the most successful Paralympic athlete from New Zealand – she reached that feat when her medal count came to 15 during the 2016 Rio Games (it’s listed as one of her milestones, and it’s a huge milestone at that!). At the Tokyo Games, Pascoe has racked up four medals: silver in the SB8 100m breaststroke on Aug. 26, bronze in the S9 100m backstroke on Aug. 30, and a gold in the S9 100m freestyle (Aug. 31) and SM9 200m individual medley (Sept. 1).

Pascoe’s gold medal in the 100m free was her 10th Paralympic gold to date, which, according to NZ Herald, was a first for New Zealand summer Paralympic athletes. And she went ahead and made that count 11 the following day, winning her fourth consecutive 200m individual medley in the Paralympics (she won the event at every Games since 2008).

“I left it all out there and some of it on the side of the pool,” Pascoe said after her 200m individual medley win. “That’s what a fight is all about, right, and I really wanted to make this a four-peat.”

With 19 Paralympic medals total, Pascoe has a shot at one more medal. At this point, she’s just adding to her own records, and we love to see it! Both gold-medal moments so far from these Games were spectacular, and the pictures say it all. Keep reading for a look back at those emotional victories.