Sophie Lewis has fought back into medal contention at this summer’s Commonwealth Games despite her seeing her funding cut entirely last season.
The track cycling sprinter was forced to take a step back from the British Cycling Programme following a shoulder injury, learning how to maintain her elite performance on her own terms.
And in May, she rocketed to the lead time at the Team England trials to grab a spot in the team pursuit in Glasgow this summer.
She said: “I had done some track racing over the winter and then came in and did some sessions for the process to actually get selected. We had some selection events to do on the track, so we all did an individual pursuit and a 500 metre time trial.
“They had some data to see where everyone was at so they could make a selection. I came into those sessions and they were great at supporting me to do that. It actually went really, really well - I think I went faster than everyone else, so thankfully I got selected and then joined them for some sessions pre-Games.”
This will be the 24-year-old’s second Commonwealth Games, after she was part of the team pursuit squad that earned a bronze medal in 2022, alongside Laura Kenny, Josie Knight, and Maddie Leech.
While the legendary Kenny has since retired, Knight and Leech will reprise their roles this time around, hoping to go one or two better than their 2022 result. On top of the pursuit, Lewis will try her luck in the scratch and elimination races too.
Lewis said: “I'm still really close friends with Josie and Maddie - I live with Maddie and I see Josie all the time. I'm in the same team as her on the road.
“It's almost quite normal, which is nice. I think the hard bit is coming back into that environment, which I found tough at the start of the year. It's getting better now.
“That's a bit odd but with the other riders it’s nicely normal.”
British Cycling received a National Lottery grant of £75,000 for 17 competitive bikes ahead of Glasgow 2026, with National Lottery players helping the likes of Lewis fulfil their dreams.
Only in February last year, Lewis was winning a bronze medal at the European Track Championships, but without the regularity of the British Cycling Programme’s sessions, she has found other things to keep her ticking over.
She regularly competes in crit race and has also considered entering the financial world or becoming a pilot - both her parents have been in the RAF.
She said: “I found the importance of enjoying the process. Not that I didn't enjoy it before, but I’m enjoying it and doing what I want to do. With the Games, it's nice knowing exactly what I'm going into and that I've done it before.
“But there is some level of pressure that is a make-or-break Games for me. If it goes well, that's great. But if it doesn't, then it's hard to see where the future will lead after that. I just want to enjoy it and have a bit of fun.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33million is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.
