Run UlsterParis Bound: Sophie Becker’s Olympic Journey
July 26, 2024
Sophie Becker will compete in her second Olympic Games in Paris this summer in the 400m and the relays. Qualifying from the quota system, it will be Becker’s first time competing as an individual. . The Raheny Shamrocks athlete brings a wealth of experience to these events, having already competed this year at three major events; the European Championships in Rome, the World Indoors in Glasgow and the World Relays in the Bahamas. Added to this her previous appearance on relay squads at the World Championships in Oregon (2022) and Budapest (2023) and the Olympic Games in Tokyo (2021) marks her as a mature competitor at this level.
Early Athletic Beginnings
Originally from Ballykelly in Wexford, Sophie joined her nearest athletic club St Josephs AC (Kilkenny) after trying a variety of different sports.. As a juvenile she competed over the shorter distances of 100m and 200m and well as being part of a very successful St Josephs AC relays squad that medaled at National Championships. It was as an u23 athlete that she transitioned over to the 400m.
Somewhat of a late bloomer, Sophie did not win a national individual medal until she was 18 years old, when she won the U-19 400m Irish title in 2015. Her performance was enough to earn her a scholarship to DCU the following year. There, she benefited from a high-performance setup and worked with coach Jeremy Lyons along with her St Joseph’s AC coach Pat Power. In 2017, signs of improvements were beginning to register with Becker claiming the U-23 400m national title and representing Ireland for the first time at the U-23 Championships in Poland.
In 2018 Sophie won the 400m indoor university title in Athlone and finished second in the 400m at the Inter-varsity track and field in Belfast. Becker also qualified for her first senior 400m national final that year, clinching silver at the Morton Stadium.
In 2019, Becker again claimed silver in the 400m event, this time being denied the gold by Newport’s Sharlene Mawdsley.
National Success, Tokyo & Relay Action
Despite a disrupted 2020 season due to COVID-19 Becker enjoyed a very successful season on the track, completing the double by winning the indoor and her first outdoor 400m national title. Later that year she moved from St Joseph’s AC to Raheny Shamrocks AC.
Being selected for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 was the highlight of her career. As a first time Olympian .she joined the Irish mixed relay team that also included Cillin Greene, Phil Healy and Chris O’Donnell. Finishing fourth in their heat, the team qualified for the final where they finished 8th.
The 2022 season saw Becker claim her second senior 400m title in Santry and qualify for her first World Athletics Championships in Oregon in July. After just missing out on qualification from her heat in the individual 400m, she formed part of the Mixed 4x400m relay team in qualifying for the final, where they finished in eighth place.
Her burgeoning international career led her to various international races, including to Germany for the European Athletics Championships in August. In Munich she was a member of Ireland’s 4x400m Women’s relay team, aiding in their qualification for the final where they finished in sixth place.
2023 saw Becker relinquish her national title to 400m rival Sharlene Mawdsley in Santry. Sophie then went on to compete in her second World Athletics Championships in Budapest in both Women’s and Mixed 4x400m relay events. Her efforts ensured final qualification for both teams, with the Women’s finishing in eighth place and the Mixed team finishing in sixth place.
2024: Euro Success & Paris Qualification
The 2024 season has been huge for Sophie. The International season started with the World Indoors in Glasgow, where the ladies relay team finished 5th, a position that surprised most.
In her first outdoor appearance of the season, she formed part of the Women’s 4x400m relay team that achieved Olympic qualification for Paris with a seventh-place finish in the World Relays in the Bahamas. Just six days later, she set a new personal best at the Belfast Milers meet with a time of 51.13, a significant improvement to her personal best and most importantly her first individual qualification standard for a major senior championship; the European Championships in Rome.
The World Relays were quickly followed by the European Athletics Championships in Rome. Becker advanced from her heat in the 400m event but, marginally missed out on qualification for the final. However, she bounced back to play an important role in securing Ireland's historic first-ever silver in the Women’s 4x400m.
Three weeks later, she capped her season by winning her second 400m senior title at Santry and had to endure a nervous wait before Olympic qualification was finally confirmed on July 7th.
In an interview with the Irish Independent before heading to France, Becker remarked how the Paris Olympics felt like her Olympic debut: “It’s going to be a very different experience to Tokyo, in a lot of ways it feels like my first Olympics because of how that was affected by Covid-19,”
Conclusion
From her early beginnings with St Joseph’s AC in Kilkenny to her national and European successes, Sophie Becker brings a wealth of experience to the Paris Olympic Games, where she will compete in up to three different events.
After demonstrating great composure in securing last-minute qualification for the games, Becker is set to build on her achievements in the 400m event and holds genuine prospects of contributing to a medal win for Ireland in the Women’s 4x400m relay.
We wish her every success.
