Staffordshire's Sophie Capwell: I’m going for gold after tip from my late dad

The Staffordshire 25-year-old will compete as part of the first British women’s team sprint to qualify for the Games since London 2012, 28 years after her late father Nigel made his Paralympic debut in Atlanta.

Fellow cyclist Nigel finished fourth at both the Atlanta and Sydney Games and passed away in 2021, but Capewell will have his sage words of wisdom ringing around her head this summer as she bids to carry on his legacy.

“My journey has not been the most straightforward,” said Capewell. “Losing my dad and having lots of trials and tribulations along the way has been really rough.

“It doesn’t make up for it, but this is really special. I feel really connected to my dad who had his own Paralympics in Atlanta and Sydney, it does feel I can share it with him in some strange way.

“He left a bit of a legacy, and he was a bit of a pioneer in the way he has approached things and I hope I can take that to the Games with me. My dad always told me never to just aim for bronze because that’s what he did, and he got fourth. He bred that into me, so we are not aiming for third, let’s put it that way!

“We are just going to turn up and do the best we can. Yes there is pressure but there has always been pressure.

“We know what we are capable of. The hard work we have put in isn’t just for the sake of doing it. There will be pressure, but we can handle it.”

Capewell, from Lichfield, is one of more than 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – this is vital for her pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

She will compete alongside 21-year-old individual world champion Emma Finucane and Rio bronze medallist Katy Marchant as the trio bid for Great Britain’s first-ever medal in the team event.

An historic medal could be a real possibility after back-to-back European silvers in the last two years, and Capewell believes they have found the perfect formula for success.

“Everyone has got a role in our group, it is a bit like the team sprint,” added Capewell, who is also studying for a maths degree at Loughborough University.

“We all have our strengths and things we can bring to the team. It has been an important part of our journey to even qualify to make sure we are a team.

“If we can support each other off the track, we are going to do better on it. It doesn’t mean we have to be best friends, skipping down the road but we have so much respect for each other and get on really well.

“It makes us even stronger on the track knowing we have each other’s backs off it.

“We go for coffee all the time, there are lots of coffee trips. We can switch off together, it’s not all about performance.

“We know how to support each other. I have been through some tough times and the girls have been there for me but it’s also vice versa. I am quite a logical thinker so sometimes they come to me; we have all got our roles. It is a good team.”

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