Road to Tokyo
Pascoe joined WABN in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020, when she was facing ongoing obstacles in her training due to COVID-19 restrictions. Arriving in Japan, she knew she wasn’t at peak physical performance. “I had no idea what I was going to come out with,” she says of competing. “But I thought, no matter the outcome, it’s about how I make people feel and how I make myself feel.”
"Although 'Sophie the athlete' didn't always perform how she should have," Pascoe says, "'Sophie the person' did, by drawing on the resilience that has been part of her sporting career since her first Paralympics at age 15." While her previous Games focused on execution and performance, Tokyo 2020 was about enjoying the journey after pushing through a year of physical and mental hardship. The postponement had hit hard, shattering her identity as an athlete and prompting her to find herself again, which she says has brought perspective to her life.
“Even though last year was so dark, there was a light always shining. I grasped on to it through the helping hands of others who had confidence in me as a person and an athlete,” she says. “We need to remind one another that we are there to support each other and that asking for help is the most important thing.”
Tapping her toolkit
Buoyed by the confidence instilled in her by her mentor and fellow mentees in WABN, Pascoe is working to realize her post-sport dream of creating her own fashion line.
“As athletes, we do get scared of what’s next,” she explains, “but WABN has given me the experience and journey of learning from others in my situation. I’m fortunate to have had it, especially in the past 12 months, to keep me excited about the future. I’ve always been told the fashion business is so hard, with tough competitors and a challenging market. I never thought I’d be able to make it, but this group has made me realize that I’m going to do it.”
With morale high, she is confident her sporting experiences will help her excel in business. She has dedication, leadership, single-mindedness and teamwork—a toolkit fit for any budding entrepreneur.
“WABN has taught me that we athletes are coachable. I know the sacrifices and dedication needed to be the best. But most of all, I know about being honest with yourself,” she says. “Standing behind the blocks, knowing you’ve given everything you could to be there, and then seeing an outcome is because of the integrity of yourself. In the business world, you need to be honest with yourself because that’s how people believe in you.”
Likening her sporting career to a bus, she says she spent her early days sitting at the back with her coach at the wheel. Each success and failure brought her closer to the front, where she is now, and she is equipped to apply those learnings to business. “Sport has given me years of experience of understanding growth and leadership—and what it takes to be able to drive the bus with a supportive team around you,” she says.
Adaptability, open-mindedness and humility are just some of the qualities she plans to bring from sport to her fashion venture. Even failure, she adds, is “a learning experience of how to grow, be better, and take on the world again.”
