Sophie Capewell

Sophie Capewell
MBE
Capewell in 2019
Personal information
BornSophie Ellen Capewell
(1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 26)
Lichfield, England[1]
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Medal record
Women's track cycling
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team sprint
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Ballerup Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2024 Ballerup 500 m time trial
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Roubaix Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Team sprint
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Grenchen Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2024 Apeldoorn Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Grenchen Sprint
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham Keirin
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 500m time trial

Sophie Ellen Capewell (born 4 September 1998) is a British professional racing cyclist. She won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the team sprint.[2]

Early life

Capewell grew up in Staffordshire.[3] Her father, Nigel Capewell, represented Great Britain in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.[4][5][6] She attended Connell Sixth Form College.[7]

Career

Capewell competed in the women's sprint at the 2020 World Championships in Berlin.[8] Capewell then went on to win bronze in the team sprint at the 2021 World Championships in Roubaix, France.[9]

Capewell was selected for the England team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Despite taking the first race of three, Capewell ultimately lost the bronze medal final of the women's sprint to Emma Finucane of Wales, finishing fourth overall.[10] However, she bounced back to take 500m time trial bronze the following day. She subsequently won a silver medal in the keirin, which she dedicated to her late father Nigel, who died in October 2021.[11]

In 2024, she won a second national title, at the 2024 British Cycling National Track Championships.[12] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Capewell, alongside teammates Katy Marchant and Emma Finucane, won the gold medal in the women’s team sprint. The team broke the world record three times during the event, ultimately setting the new record at 45.186 seconds in the final.[2][13]

At the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, Capewell teamed with Finucane and Marchant to win gold in the team sprint.[14][15]

Capewell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to cycling.[16]

Major results

2017
National Track Championships
1st Team sprint (with Lauren Bate)
1st Keirin
3rd Sprint
2018
National Track Championships
2nd Sprint
3rd Team sprint (with Blaine Ridge-Davis)
3rd Keirin
2019
National Track Championships
1st Sprint
2nd Team sprint (with Milly Tanner)
2021
UCI World Championships
3rd Team sprint
2022
Commonwealth Games
2nd Keirin
3rd 500 m time trial
UCI World Championships
3rd Team sprint
National Track Championships
2nd Team sprint (with Blaine Ridge-Davis and Milly Tanner)
2nd Sprint
3rd Keirin
2023
UCI World Championships
2nd Team sprint
UEC European Championships
2nd Team sprint
3rd Sprint
National Track Championships
2nd Team sprint (with Blaine Ridge-Davis and Lowri Thomas)
2nd Sprint
2nd Individual time trial
3rd Keirin
2024
National Track Championships
1st Team sprint (with Milly Tanner and Georgette Rand)
Olympic Games
1st Team sprint (with Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant)
UCI World Championships
1st Team sprint (with Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant)
2nd 500 m time trial
UEC European Championships
2nd Team sprint

References

  1. ^ "Sophie Capewell". British Cycling. April 2020.
  2. ^ a b "British trio win women's team sprint gold". BBC Sport. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Staffordshire backs its home-grown athletes at Paris 2024 Olympics". Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Sophie Capewell". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Sophie Capewell: British Champion and a junior sprinter on the rise". Peloton Watch. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Sophie Capewell". Eurosport. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  7. ^ Packer, Phil (18 February 2022). "Great Britain Track Cyclist and World Championship medallist, Sophie Capewell, joins the BRIT Family". The Brit Challenge. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Women's Sprint: Start List". UCI. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. ^ "World Track Cycling Championships: Great Britain win team sprint bronze in Roubaix". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Commonwealth Games: Cyclist Emma Finucane claims second bronze medal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Commonwealth Games: Laura Kenny wins scratch race gold at track cycling". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Report: Day 3 British Track Championships". Velo UK. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Record-breaking Team GB storm to stunning gold in women's team sprint". Eurosport. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  14. ^ "British trio win women's world team sprint gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Great Britain storm to women's team sprint gold at Cycling World Championships". The Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Southgate knighted in New Year Honours - full list". BBC. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
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