Sophie Ellen Capewell (born 4 September 1998) is a British professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

. She won a gold medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

. She was also a member of the British trio who became world champions in the team sprint at the

2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held from 16 to 20 October 2024, at the Ballerup Super Arena in Ballerup, Denmark. It was the 121st edition of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Schedule A total of 22 events were held, ...

Early life

Capewell grew up in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. Her father, Nigel Capewell, represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. She attended

Connell Sixth Form College Connell Co-op College is a Sixth Form College in the Beswick Hub development, Manchester. Run by the Co-op Academies Trust and formerly the Bright Futures Educational Trust (BFET), the college is located on the Etihad Campus training ground built ...

Career

Capewell competed in the women's sprint at the 2020 World Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Capewell then went on to win bronze in the

at the 2021 World Championships in

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

, France. Capewell was selected for the England team for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. Despite taking the first race of three, Capewell ultimately lost the bronze medal final of the women's sprint to

Emma Finucane Emma Finucane ( ; born 22 December 2002) is a Welsh Track cycling, track cyclist. She is an Olympic champion in the team sprint, a two-time world champion in the Sprint (track cycling), sprint, and a world and European champion in the team sprin ...

of Wales, finishing fourth overall. However, she bounced back to take 500m time trial bronze the following day. She subsequently won a silver medal in the

keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...

, which she dedicated to her late father Nigel, who died in October 2021. In 2024, she won a second national title, at the 2024 British Cycling National Track Championships. At the

, Capewell, alongside teammates

Katy Marchant Katy Marchant (born 30 January 1993) is an elite British track cyclist who specialises in the sprint disciplines. She won gold as part of the Great Britain women's sprint team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and was a European champion i ...

and

, 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. At the

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research o ...

, Denmark, Capewell teamed with Finucane and Marchant to win gold in the

. Capewell was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

for services to cycling.

Major results

;2017 :

National Track Championships National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

::1st

Team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

(with

Lauren Bate Lauren Bate (born 24 October 1999) is a former racing cyclist. She rode in the women's team sprint event at the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and went on to win bronze in the event in 2021. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she won ...

) ::1st

Keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...

::3rd

Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

;2018 :

::2nd

::3rd

(with

Blaine Ridge-Davis Blaine Ridge-Davis (born 7 May 1999) is a British track cyclist and BMX cyclist. Cycling career Ridge-Davis is a double British team champion after winning the team sprint Championship at the 2019 British National Track Championships and 2020 ...

) ::3rd

;2019 :

::1st

::2nd

(with

Milly Tanner Millicent (Milly) Tanner (born 10 January 1999) is an English international track cyclist. Personal Tanner attended Millfield School. Cycling career Tanner became a British team champion after winning the team sprint Championship at the 2020 ...

) ;2021 :

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

::3rd

;2022 :

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

::2nd

::3rd 500 m time trial :

::3rd

::2nd

(with

and

) ::2nd

::3rd

;2023 :

::2nd

: UEC European Championships ::2nd

::3rd

::2nd

(with

and

Lowri Thomas Lowri Thomas (born 3 March 1999) is a British and Welsh track cyclist. Cycling career Thomas became a British Champion when winning the team sprint event at the 2022 British National Track Championships alongside teammates Emma Finucane and Rh ...

) ::2nd

::2nd

Individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

::3rd

;2024 :

::1st

(with

and Georgette Rand) :

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

::1st

(with

and

) :

::1st

(with

and

) ::2nd 500 m time trial : UEC European Championships ::2nd

References

External links

* *
Sophie Capewell
at

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

Sophie Capewell
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capewell, Sophie 1998 births Living people English female cyclists British female cyclists English track cyclists British track cyclists Sportspeople from Lichfield Cyclists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in cycling Sports world record holders UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women) 21st-century English sportswomen Members of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cycling Commonwealth Games silver medallists in cycling