Irish athlete Sophie Becker

Sophie Becker, an Irish athlete, who earned the silver in 4x400m relay at the Roma European Athletics Championships in 2024. She competed in the mixed 4x400m relay event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 400m, 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Sophie Becker is an IAAF World Relays silver medalist and five-time national champion.

Sophie Becker was born May 16, 1997, in Wexford, Republic of Ireland. She began running at the age of ten and quickly discovered she had a skill, and from the age of 15, she began to train seriously with her running club, St Josepha’s AC.

Sophie Becker began her competitive career in 2013, placing fourth at the Tullamore Irish U23 Championships and Tullamore Woodie’s DIY AAI Juvenile Championships in 100m, and fifth in the Tullamore Irish U23 Championships in 200m.

At the Athlone U18 Indoor Events in 2014, she won bronze in 60m and gold in 200m. She also competed in the Athlone Irish Junior Indoor Championships and the Cork Irish Junior Championships, but did not win any awards.

Sophie Becker earned bronze medals in the 60m and 400m at the Tullamore Irish Junior Championships and Athlone Irish Juvenile Indoor Championships, respectively, in 2015. She also won gold at the Athlone Regional Indoor Championships in 400m and made her debut in the Dublin Irish Championships in 400m.

Sophie Becker had a strong 2016 indoor season, finishing fourth in the 200m at the Athlone Irish Indoor Championships, just missing out on the medals. She followed that up by winning the bronze medal in the 400m at the Athlone Irish U23/U20 Indoor Championships.

During the outdoor season, Sophie Becker competed in the 400m and 4x400m relay at the Oordegem IFAM Meeting, as well as the 400m at the Dublin Irish Championships. She then went on to claim the bronze medal in the 400m at the Tullamore Irish U23/U20 Championships, and the silver at the Tullamore Irish Schools Championships in the same event.

In 2017, Irish sprinter Sophie Becker had a breakout year on the international stage. At the European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, she competed in the 400m and 4x400m relay but narrowly missed the podium. However, Sophie Becker bounced back at the CSIT World Sports Games in Jelgava, winning gold medals in both the 200m and 400m events.

Throughout the season, Sophie Becker dominated the junior athletics circuit in Ireland. She claimed gold in the 60m and 200m at the Athlone Irish U23/U20 Indoor Championships, and followed that up with another gold in the 400m at the Tullamore Irish U23/U20 Championships.

In 2018, Sophie Becker won her first national medal, taking the silver in the 400m event at the Dublin Irish Championships. Later that year, she represented her country at the Berlin European Athletics Championships, competing in the 4x400m relay, but was unable to secure a podium finish. During the season, Sophie Becker enjoyed a successful run, winning gold at the Oordegem IFAM Meeting, as well as silver medals at the Bruxelles Grand Prix, Waterford Ton Le Gaoithe Sprints Meeting, and Belfast Irish University Championships, all in the 400m.

In 2019, rising Irish athlete Sophie Becker enjoyed a standout indoor season, winning gold medals in the 60m and 200m at the Irish U23 Indoor Championships. She followed that up with more success, taking the 200m title at the Athlone IUAA Indoor Championships and the 400m gold at the Abbotstown AAI Indoor Games. Sophie Becker also earned her second national medal, securing silver in the 400m at the Abbotstown Irish Indoor Championships.

Sophie Becker’s strong form continued into the outdoor season, where she won another national silver in the 400m at the Santry Irish Championships. She added to her haul with silver at the Athlone Irish University Championships and gold in the 400m at the Dublin Graded Meeting. Becker also claimed silver as part of the 4x400m relay team at the Abbotstown AAI Indoor Games.

While Sophie Becker represented Ireland at the Gavle European U23 Championships, she was unable to medal on that occasion. Overall, 2019 was a highly productive year for the rising star, as she established herself as one of Ireland’s top young talents across multiple events.

In 2020, Sophie Becker claimed her first national titles at the Dublin Irish Indoor Championships and the Dublin Irish Championships in the 400m.

In 2021, she represented her country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, participating in the mixed relay for the 4x400m, where her team finished in 8th place in the final. Individually, she took part in the 400 meters at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships but did not reach the podium. Nevertheless, she achieved a silver medal at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet in the same distance. Her most significant accomplishment that season was earning a silver medal in the 4×200 meters at the Chorzow World Athletics Relays.

In 2022, Sophie Becker represented Ireland at the Eugene World Athletics Championships, where she participated in the mixed 4x400m relay and secured an 8th place finish in the final. She achieved her third national title in the 400m at the Dublin Irish Championships and secured a second-place finish at the Dublin Irish Indoor Championships in the same discipline. Sophie Becker also claimed the gold medal in the 400m at the World Indoor Tour in Madrid. She earned a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay at the Oslo Bislett Games and secured silver medals in both the 400m and the 4x400m relay at the IFAM Oordegem. Additionally, she won the 400m event at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet and took part in the Beograd World Athletics Indoor Championships and the Munich European Athletics Championships.

In 2023, Sophie Becker achieved remarkable success as a sprinter in Ireland. She secured the gold in the 400m event at the Dublin AAI Games and Ninove Flanders Cup Vita, and also claimed the silver at the 58th International Pentecost Sport Meeting Rehlingen. Throughout the season, she demonstrated her prowess by clinching her fourth national title at the Irish Indoor Championships and adding a silver medal to her collection at the Dublin Irish Championships in the 400m category. Additionally, Sophie Becker showcased her talent on the international stage by competing in the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships, participating in both the 400m race and the 4x400m relay.

Sophie Becker was part of the Irish team for the Paris 2024 Olympics. She competed at the 4x400m relay, finishing 4th in the final, as well as in 4x400m mixed relay and 400m individually, but failed to reach the final in both events. She competed at the Glasgow World Athletics Indoor Championships, but finished 5th in the 4x400m relay final. However, she and Team Ireland had bigger success at the Roma European Athletics Championships, winning the silver in 4x400m relay.

Meanwhile, in 2024, she won the 400m gold at the Dublin Irish Championships and Belfast Irish Milers Meet In Association with Tripadvisor, the silver at the Dublin Irish Indoor Championship, as well as the 400m bronze at the prestigious meetings BAUHAUS-Galanm Anhalt 2024 – 26. Internationales Leichtathletik Meeting, Kladno hazi a Kladenske Memorialy. During the season, she finished 7th at the 63rd Ostrava Golden Spike in 400m and 7th at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 in 4x400m relay.

Sophie Becker in numbers

1x European Athletics Championships silver medalist
1x World Athletics Relays silver medalist
5x National champion
Personal best: 3:19.90 min (4x400m relay), 3:12.67 (4x400m mixed relay), 51.13 sec (400m)

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