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Attitude Beneath the Surface

ChannelTV One
Date Broadcast Sunday 1 July 2012
Start Time08 : 30
Finish Time08 : 59
Duration29:00
Series2012
Episode16

Sophie Pascoe became New Zealand’s golden girl when she won three gold medals and a silver at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics…at just 15 years of age. Now the hunter has become the hunted as she strives to achieve even more in London. This is an intimate insight into one of New Zealand’s hardest working athletes. We’re alongside Sophie as she prepares for the biggest event of her life.

The Attitude TV series has developed into a character driven, documentary style series. It showcases engaging, entertaining stories about people who live with a disability. Attitude follows great characters, often on extraordinary life journeys.

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We're alongside Sophie Pascoe as she prepares for the biggest event of her life. Here's an intimate insight into one of NZ's hardest-working athletes. Captions by Faith Hamblyn. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 INSPIRING MUSIC (MOUTHS) MUSIC CONTINUES Sophie Pascoe was an unknown 15-year-old when she went to her first Paralympics in 2008. My biggest goal is, for next year, to get to the Beijing Paralympics and hopefully get into a final. She won three gold medals and a silver. Accolades and awards followed. And the winner is Sophie Pascoe. She was voted NZ's favourite Paralympic athlete, Canterbury Sportswoman of the Year, was a finalist at the Halberg Sports Awards, won Attitude's Sports Performer Award, and became a member of The NZ Order of Merit. Now, she will arrive in London with a huge expectation to succeed. Since our achievements in Beijing, we're the hunted now, and to be able to retain that is the hardest thing possible. You know, it's not about stepping out of the woodwork and, you know, smashing them in Beijing, like I did. And I was basically the new girl on the scene, you know, and now it's not that any more ` it's about retaining it. INSPIRING MUSIC CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC I think, 'Why am I doing this? What am I doing this for?' And that's the negative side of things. But then the positive is I'm doing it for myself, I'm going out there, I'm achieving something, and that's the way I want it to be. Sophie's about to head off overseas for another three weeks of altitude training. It's all part of her life as an elite athlete. I know that family will always be there, yeah, but I understand that I'm going away and I chose this life, you know? I didn't choose to study; I'm a full-time athlete now. So, yeah, I've chosen this life, but they... yeah, they understand it, and they take it well. Every time I get to the pool, I'm so passionate about getting into the water, and I've never felt this way before. I just want to train, and I know that I've gotta train to be the best over there, and I'm doing everything possible, at the moment. CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC The altitude training has taken her to Flagstaff Arizona, 2000m above sea level, one of the handful of dedicated altitude-training cities around the world. INTENSE MUSIC Training at altitude starves your body of oxygen, forcing it to work harder, which in turn makes it more efficient. Before I came to Flagstaff, I was living in an altitude tent for 10 days. You try and spend as much time as possible in there to get the oxygen right and pumping more red cells into your blood. I think it's definitely made a difference to being in Flagstaff. Sophie has already been here for 10 days, but is still acclimatising to the lack of oxygen. So far, her days have consisted of two two-hour trainings a day, with complete rest in-between. Hi, Megan. How are you? Good, thanks. Good, thanks. Um, what I'll get you to do is start off with, uh,... eight 100s just on the minute freestyle, please. It's easy going to sleep and get nothing out of it, but the other hand is we can get something out of it, and we do need to. Sophie travels with her coach, Roly Crichton. He's been her constant companion since she started competing, when she was 8. We have to cruise through it. It's something you do sometimes ` we've gotta break through that barrier. LAID-BACK MUSIC She hasn't slept well, she's come off a hard, um, session, and, um, really hard to get in on Friday mornings. Roly knows her well, when to push her and when to ride the clutch. Today he's having to back off. We'll put the bin on, cos I want you go to 25 one, one, one; 25 two, two, two; stop at the other end; 25 three, three, three; 25 four, four, four. So we need to switch on and get that done, you can have a sleep while you're getting a massage. When you're tired it becomes boring, I'm getting nothing out of you ` I wanna get something out of these sessions. INTENSE MUSIC The lip's dragging now. She's one of these people where everything has to go right ` and we're all like that. And when something's not going quite right, it's really how you deal with that, so I've gotta get her through that. She can put on a good face and, uh, work through that. If she's absolutely buggered, where I'd be pretty nasty to be round and need to head off to the bunk. We've never ever trained like this before, so I'm expecting once we come down out of altitude, you know, she'll be walking on water. When we're absolutely shot, like you are, and you can do these small things right, it's very, very special. He's been my coach for 10 years now. You know, he's very dedicated to me, and I can see that. CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC He's knows what he's talking about, been to the Paralympics, he's been there and done it ` he's won gold. We've got such a good bond ` that's why we succeed. MUSIC CONTINUES I need someone that pushes me to the maximum every day in training. A lot of people wouldn't be able to put up with someone that's so protective, but I think, you know, at the end of the day, he goes out of his way to make me an athlete and make me a champion, and I couldn't ask for much more from him. Right, Soph, I'm gonna get you to, uh, put this on your head. We're gonna do some cup work out on the backstroke. The old cup has seen better days, but you can balance anything on your head. CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC Put the cup on the head, and it will stretch the neck nice and long, and what happens is that it lifts the hips up nice and high, which, uh, gives you a nice easy flow across the top of the water, rather than drag. It's day 11 of altitude, and I guess you could say I'm at the lowest point of the week so far. Um, woke up from a bad sleep, and heart rate was still high from last night's session. And just coming to the pool is the last thing you want, to get into a cold pool. INTENSE MUSIC Take your mark! Go! I've just gotta do it. It's only` I've got two hours to go, and I just keep going. And it's about striving for what you want, and I just can't come to the pool and be, like, 'Well, that was a crap session.' You know? I don't wanna leave the pool feeling guilty if I haven't done the best I can. I think she's incredibly mature for someone her age and very focused, uh, single-minded and dedicated. She's, like, kinda a living embodiment of the Olympic ideals, the commitment and sacrifice and dedication and all those things rolled into what it takes to become an elite athlete at that level ` you know, she's an exemplary example. Any specifics you want worked on today? Any specifics you want worked on today? Uh, just those same places. It's still bugging you? It's still bugging you? Yeah. It's still bugging you? Yeah. OK. Does that ever go away? I don't think it ever does. Maybe a little bit harder. Maybe a little bit harder. You getting use to Flagstaff's altitude? Yeah. I did have a really hard set on Tuesday; the heart rate was still high in the morning. Ooh. Tender there? Tender there? Yeah. In Sophie's world, even pain has its benefits. Low points are huge. You can't be happy every day. You know, you've gotta have those low points that you sit, you think, 'Why am I doing this?' But that's because it's got so hard, and you've put yourself outside that comfort zone, that you've really, kind of, put that question out there. But I think the low days push you even more to think, 'Oh well, tomorrow's gonna be a better day. 'Tomorrow I'm really gonna have a good training session.' Or, 'Tomorrow's gonna be the day that I'm gonna race the best I've ever raced.' But as well as the brutal physical challenges, there's the mental pressure of isolation ` CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC ...something modern technology has made a bit easier. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. How are you? I'm good, thanks. How are you? I'm good, thanks. How are you? Good. What are you doing? I'm good, thanks. How are you? Good. What are you doing? Just Skyping you. (LAUGHS) How was swimming? All right? (LAUGHS) How was swimming? All right? Oh, I had a pretty crap day. Just... Why? Why? Oh, I woke up and my heart rate was quite high. And I, like, woke up every hour last night. It was horrible. So, yeah, I wasn't feeling that great this morning, so the training was pretty blah. 'Mum plays a big part of my life. She's, like, my rock, so she's my bestest friend. She's always there. 'She can just switch off from being a mum. So I definitely try and get in a few Skype sessions.' All right. Nice talking. OK, then, darling. Love you. OK, then, darling. Love you. Love you too. Bye. OK, then, darling. Love you. Love you too. Bye. Have a good` Bye. Take your marks. Hup! ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC Sophie has been doing this for a long time now. She started winning while still at high school in Christchurch. MUSIC CONTINUES At school I was known as the swimmer. You know, nothing else. And I think that's one of the best things about it, because people don't look at me as this disabled girl; they look at me as if I'm this athlete, and that's the way I wanna be looked at. Yeah, I don't have much of a social life. Oh, I get out, like, in the weekends and stuff and sometimes in the holidays, but not that much with... during... while I'm doing training and stuff and, um, especially in the holidays, cos I train sometimes morning and night, so that takes up all the holidays ` I'm training all the holidays. But I just give 100% every time in the water, and that's all I can do. She's 14 years of age, obviously looking at her as a prospect for Beijing and being up there. But she's still young ` she's only a teenager at 14. So you've gotta train her between, like, an adult and somebody who's gonna be a medal prospect and somebody who's young. So it's a fine line, and, uh, so you've gotta step back at times. But no one realised they were watching a future world champion. Last year, when she went to the worlds, that, sort of, opened their eyes. Next thing` Yeah. It opened our eyes too ` we weren't expecting, um, you know, her to come third and get a medal. And since then it's just, yeah, she's just gone on, hasn't she, and done better. And I think she's... Yeah, I think she's set her goals a lot higher too. And... She surprised us. She surprised us. We've always supported her. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, we've both been behind her, and, you know, we're... we're there for her. Back then, Sophie was still at school, hanging out with her girlfriend at the local mall. I'm very lucky that I was brought up in a great family that treated me exactly the same as any other, able-bodied person. And I benefited from that. You know, at school ` never bullied, nothing. You know, I was always treated exactly the same as everyone else, and that's the way it should be. Sophie credits her parent's attitude as fundamental to her success. You know, I don't just do it for myself; I swim for them, because they've been a huge part of it. They've been taking me to swimming since I was young, mum and dad, 5 o'clock in the morning. You know, how much of a pain would that have been for them? Tell us about what happened, what you remember and what you've been told. I had a lawnmower accident at home, um, a ride-on lawnmower, when I was 2 and a half. And,... um, my father was driving the lawnmower, and apparently, I... you know, this big green lawnmower ` cool, run up behind it ` next thing, I'm blimming well under it. How about how your father has handled it? It would have hit him really close to home. > I've never really asked them how they got through what happened or, you know, how they dealt with the situation. For him to be able to go overseas and experience it with me, I think that really plays a big part in, like, with my disability and showing him that, you know, it is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Yeah, so he's seen me to grow up to be who I am today, from when I was 2 and when I went through the accident, and, um, you know... and just to see a smile on his face when I'm winning ` yeah. Right from the first day she started school, she put everything in. She's gutsy, so she's really put the dedication in. So, yeah, I'm really proud of her. INTENSE MUSIC Six years on, Sophie's still dedicated. Today she's training with an able-bodied team from Northern Arizona University. This will be very foreign to you, on here, on the board, so I'll just run it down. < Two 100s, working the fly, the middle part, the back and the breast ` easy, coming home strong. Roly has an international reputation and coaches a few classes as part of the training agreement. Four 25s fly, OK, they're on 40, so that's quite a relaxing time. It does get a little manly down here, a little harder. Are we getting in? INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS When we get these out, you can't cheat. INSPIRING MUSIC It's a chance for Sophie to test herself against some local swimmers and to show them what it takes to be a Paralympic champion. Our girls get to experience, like, people like Sophie who come in, and they're just such an inspiration. She's doing everything that our girls are doing, if not sometimes better, even. And, um, for them to get to train or just watch her swim is amazing. SPLASHING And it's not only the swimmers who are learning. He pushes Sophie to be the best she can be, that's one thing I've really noticed, and he doesn't give her... She doesn't let him have any excuses on anything and vice versa. If you coach really well and you do all the things ` dot the I's, cross the T's ` you're in control of the race when you're sitting up there. And your athlete, where you've had` you've spent so much time together, they do as they're told, and you can just push the buttons from the stand. It's really cool. I guess that's the... in a story, that's the last page of a book ` and, uh, that is the racing, and the Olympics is the pinnacle. The next Olympics, it's basically you're gonna have to be a world champion at every race to, um, be in the top three. ROCK MUSIC After two weeks' solid training, Sophie gets a weekend off. And when you're training in Arizona, one of the perks is you're within driving distance of Las Vegas. I had a good response from the girls... at NAU Swimming Squad on Facebook. So those girls reckon that was quite hard? So those girls reckon that was quite hard? Yeah. I thought I didn't do my job, actually. I thought I didn't do my job, actually. Really? > Yeah. Well, if I had have worked you hard, you wouldn't have been up until 2 o'clock in the morning. I went in this store the other day, and we were looking at handbags. (CHUCKLES) My handbag I chose was plain, and Roly's, like, 'I think there's better ones out there, like, 'ones with more style, like ones with tassels.' I'm not gonna buy a bloody handbag with tassels on it! BLUESY MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES I think it's a pretty surreal sort of place. It's pretty... It could be crazy. Yeah. Very dramatic. Very dramatic. MUSIC CONTINUES Even the most dedicated athlete needs some downtime. It's as much about the mental break as the physical. It's very different to home. It's very dramatic. Every step you take, it's just dramatic, right to left. I'm leading an amazing life. I mean, I'm traveling the world as well as fulfilling my dreams with swimming. And, you know, this is just, like, basically, the icing on the cake, getting to go visit these amazing places, and, you know, this is just a break away from swimming. I mean, I've been, you know, 12 days in a hotel and just been in the hotel and in the pool, and this here is, like, a nice break away for the weekend, just to experience the nightlife and see the lights. You know, I mean, I'm not gonna to go out and get myself trolleyed or anything. I mean, um, I know what my goals are, and I'm keeping myself, um... just gonna be still relaxed for, um, Monday, Monday's training. You're gonna get Eddie. He's the good snake, OK? This snake will not touch you, for the life of you. Put one hand right here. One hand right here? There you go. There you go. (GIBBERS) (GIBBERS) Come on, come on, come on. There you go. Good. (SCREAMS) Shit! 'I think you have to put yourself outside the comfort zone to be successful, 'and I think it was a little too outside my comfort zone, really, so... 'I'm not a big fan of creepy-crawlies or long things either. (LAUGHS) 'It definitely made me all funny.' OK, I'm ready for it to be off me now. I'm ready to be off! All right. Hold on. Look at this picture. That's great. All right. Hold on. Look at this picture. That's great. OK. OK. I'm really... Thanks so much, but phew! BLUESY MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES A weekend in Las Vegas is a good distraction, but Sophie has to refocus and get straight back to training. COIN SLOT CLICKS INTENSE MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES It was great going away for the weekend and exploring, but it kind of felt a little outside, you know, the comfort zone as well, in a way. It just kind of felt like I was leaving home. Like, I think the hotel's become so much like home and so... I'm so focused here, and then all of a sudden I go away and I'm just like, oh, I'm exploring, and then come back to reality again. Yeah, but I definitely... I took it well and explored, as well as come back to reality this morning, and just had a really good training session. Yeah, Roly smashed me in the pool, and a bit shattered after getting smashed. But yeah, no, straight back into it, focused, and feeling good. Well, she's a couple of hundred short of her, um, 5K, and she wants to get out because she's feeling hungry ` that don't happen. I think I have this thing inside of me that's, just, life's too short and you've gotta really make the most of what's been given to you. And, you know, I think swimming's been given to me, and I'm just making the most of it. At the end of three weeks she's shattered, but before leaving can't pass up the chance to take in some sights. You go overseas, but you're there for training, you're there for competition. And, like, for me, I wanna explore the whole world if I can, but I think later in life. I still wanna be able to do an OE and experience the young life. But for today, she's content with the Hoover Dam and one of the world's biggest man-made lakes. I love water, yeah. Ever since I kinda got into it, I just loved the feel of it, and, yeah, it's become a part of me. So it's just kind of with the flow, and if you wanna swim, you've gotta love water, right? So, you know, I'm not afraid of just jumping in and just doing my thing ` swimming. Even walking into a new complex or a new pool and you haven't seen it before, I always compare that pool to somewhere else and be, like, 'Wow, this pool either has more feel then that one or this pool has, like... 'is a lot faster than the other one.' So, I don't know, you kind of make that power up yourself. The pool's there to just push me along. And a couple of hundred kilometres up the road is the Grand Canyon. COUNTRY MUSIC It's impressive, but Sophie has her sights set on other things. I have a plan, and I stick to that plan. And I follow it 24-7. You know, it's... And I think if the unknown comes across, you know, it's about, um, taking care of the situation when it does come, but there would always be a Plan B in place if we did come across it. For the last four years, her sole focus has been the London Paralympics. The final step in her build-up is the British Nationals. Results here will show whether the hard graft of altitude training has paid off. CROWD CHEERS CROWD CHEERS INSPIRING MUSIC As the current world number one, everyone here is seeking to take her down. Wonder she didn't bloody drown. Wonder she didn't bloody drown. (LAUGHS) Although she's in top physical shape, the mental demands don't get any easier. I think the first time I ever went into a call-up room, I was trying to be psyched out, and I was just, like, 'Whoa, this is freaky.' Like, everyone's staring at you, everyone's looking at this, 'Who's the newcomer sort of person?' But now that you've kind of become a part of it, it's just like everyone's still staring, like, everyone stares at each other, everyone, like, tries and plays these games, but for me, I don't look at anyone, look at the ground, keep focused on my own work and listen to my headphones. I still have the butterflies, though. And if I'm not nervous I know I'm not ready to race, but if I'm nervous I am ready to race. So, um, I'm able to hype myself up to get nervous. I mean, you can easily be mentally psyched out of a race, but it's about being prepared for that and knowing how to prepare yourself for that. CROWD CHEERS Sophie's focused on six events in London, and her goal is to win at least four gold medals. ANNOUNCER: Yes, 10. What a record this morning in the heats! The time now stands at 106.27. And the way she's blasted the field in the 100m butterfly, she's right on track. CROWD CHEERS, WHISTLES ANNOUNCER: Very very good. Take a look at lane four, ladies and gentlemen. Sophie Pascoe racing down to the final line. There she was. 106.27. Isn't Sophie sensational! Sophie Pascoe! It's inside the world record of 106.27. That's not beating a world record ` that is smashing it! Sophie, another world record. Is there any stopping you? Uh, we've all trained to be the best, and I've trained to hopefully be the best. (CHUCKLES) ANNOUNCER: World record time ` Sophie Pascoe! ANNOUNCER: World record time ` Sophie Pascoe! APPLAUSE By the end of this meet, Sophie broke three world records and won three gold and two bronze medals. Winning a gold medal is just the best feeling ever. Standing on that podium with your national anthem, knowing you've done it for yourself and done it for your coach, for your family, friends, support crew and then knowing you've done it for your nation as well ` it's just an incredibly amazing feeling. She's finally confident of achieving her goal and surpassing her unexpected achievement in Beijing four years ago. Um, Beijing was just the start to the career, really. If you look back on it now, I mean, it was four years ago, and now I'm sitting at my peak of mentally and physically in shape. And, yes, obviously, I've got bigger and stronger, and my goals are bigger. Yeah, we've got another one to achieve, and then, obviously, I can look back on that and be, like, 'Wow, you know, what's gonna to come up next?' Next week on Attitude, children whose mothers drank during pregnancy ` their stories. It's my birth mum ` I... I, um... she drank alcohol when she was pregnant with me, which she shouldn't have done. I love my daughters and my grandchildren, but I can't fix them now. POIGNANT MUSIC The fifth annual Attitude Awards will be celebrated on November 29th at the prestigious Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. Again, we're here to celebrate the achievements and the contributions of some of the 17% of NZers who live with disability. of some of the 17% of NZers who live with disability. APPLAUSE People recognised for excellence in sport, art, employment, and making a difference in their communities. Thank you to Attitude... for giving me... this opportunity. this opportunity. CHEERING Nominations are now open. Go to attitudepictures.com for details. APPLAUSE Bye. Bye. Bye. Captions by Faith Hamblyn. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012

Attitude Beneath the Surface

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