Sophie celebrates silver in national competition

A consultant and mum of two is celebrating a silver medal in a national para-triathlon – just four months after she bought her first road bike.

Sophie West, a consultant radiologist at East Kent Hospitals, took part in the British Paratriathlon Championships last weekend, competing in a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run in the PTS5 category.

It was her second ever triathlon, and her first with an open water swim, and she said she was delighted with the result. 

The 42 year old, who lives in Ashford, said: “To come second was really exciting. I did feel I could have done better on the run and the swim but it was fantastic to be there and to get a medal.

“I knew I could never win, because the gold medallist is ranked number one in the world, and will compete in her fifth Paralympics this summer.

“It is exciting to be able to compete against athletes at that level.”

Sophie had another setback a few weeks before the event, after having to spend a night in hospital with swimming-induced pulmonary oedema (a build-up of fluid on her lungs) after a training swim.

She also has a rare metabolic disease and needs life-long treatment, and has had multiple surgeries on her hips after discovering the joints were not fully formed.

She said: “I have had lots of surgeries and complications, and my hips are painful and stiff, and I also have nerve damage and muscle weakness, which gives me a disadvantage on the bike.

“But a few years ago my consultant gave me the okay to try running, so I did, and started cycling on a static bike, and it all went from there.”

Sophie swam competitively at a national level between 2013 and 2016 after seeing an athlete competing in the London 2012 Paralympics with the same hip condition.

Any further training beyond this was put on hold due to work and family pressures, until Sophie moved to Ashford from London.

She said: “I don’t want to stop working, or train full-time as an athlete, but the move meant I had the space to build a gym in our garage, and now I get up at 5am to train before everyone else is up.

“It is my way to de-stress, and I absolutely love it. I am a complete exercise addict.

“My goal for 2024 was to complete a full triathlon so now that’s ticked off, and I will continue finding ways to fit my sport around my life and making it work for me.”