A mother, marketing specialist, Paralympian, sport series founder and guest TV presenter, Sophia is living proof of one of her favourite quotes, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”
Sophia’s athletics career began in 1996 when she made her international debut in the 100m and 200m. She went on to pick up gold in both for Great Britain at the 1998 World Championships. In it for the love not the glory, Sophia remembers a very different time in para athletics. “In the beginning, it was literally Mum, Dad and my dog watching me,” she says.
Fast-forward to the 2012 Paralympics and 16 years of hard work and dedication saw Sophia run a lifetime best in her 200m in front of 80,000 people and finish fourth in both her 100m and 200m. Sophia retired from elite sport after the World Championships in 2013. She can now be found doing triathlons among other sporting challenges!
Off the track, Sophia’s marketing and commercial career stretches back more than two decades. Over the years, she has worked extensively for global brands, including BT and Nestle, and after the 2012 Paralympics was appointed the commercial director at British Athletics.
In the lead up to London 2012, as one of the few mothers on the British team, Sophia was fortunate to partner with family brands P&G, Boots and Virgin Active. Their sponsorship enabled her to train full time.
Since retiring from elite sport, Sophia continues to combine her loves of business, marketing and sport. In 2013 she set up her own agency Sophia Warner Sports Marketing with the primary objective of maximising opportunities in disability sport.
In 2015 she set up and ran the world’s first mass-participation sports event dedicated to people with disabilities, which went on to win multiple awards, and in 2016 was a consultant for the inaugural Parallel London event at the Olympic Park.
Straight afterwards, Sophia flew to Rio as part of the Channel 4 broadcast team for the Paralympic Games. She had previously guest presented for Channel 4 at the Commonwealth Games.
In 2017 Sophia founded and still runs Superhero Series, the UK’s only disability sports series. Now in its fourth year, the televised series holds four annual events and currently has Marvel as its headline sponsor.
Sophia is also the founder of the charity Superhero Sport Foundation. Its mission is to break down barriers to disability sport participation and introduce as many people as possible to the life-changing power of sport.
Sophia lives in Surrey with her two children Lucca and Felix, her dogs Molly and Miffy, and lots of chickens.
