Many people might not know it, but All-American swimmer, three-peat WPIAL champion, and two-time state champion, Sophie Shao, also is quite an accomplished artist. But even she couldn’t have painted a better picture of what happened at the WPIAL Class 3A swimming championships, when the junior came away with four gold medals. As if that wasn’t enough, Sophie is now the WPIAL’s fastest swimmer in the history of the 100 butterfly after a finish of 53.85, nearly three seconds faster than her closest competitor at the March 3-4 tournament. The previous record, set 38 years ago, was 54.16.
Sophie also added individual gold in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.51, nearly three seconds faster than her closest competitor. Two additional golds came because of the bookend team relays’ wins in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle, which began and ended the tournament on a great note for the Foxes and helped earn the girls team the WPIAL Class 3A runners-up title.
“The last three years at WPIALs have definitely taught me that sharing each other’s excitement makes swimming truly meaningful,” says the National Honor Society member whose course load includes all Advanced Placement courses.
“This was the best-case scenario that was in my head,” says Sophie, whose goal going into the event was to become the fastest female butterflier in WPIAL history. “I’ve put in so much hard work, and it really does show that it pays off in the end. It really was a dream come true.
“I’ve been trying to get under 54 in the fly for a while now, but when I saw what my time was, my first thought was, ‘I beat it by that much?’ ” Honestly, I really did exceed my expectations, and I’m just so happy!”
Sophie’s focus now is on the PIAA Class 3A championships that will be held March 16-17 at Bucknell University. She knows there is no time to relax. Even though she is a superstar in the WPIAL, there is someone else who will be ranked first in the 100 fly.
“There is a freshman from, I think, (PIAA) District 1 who is going to be really good competition in the fly. She swims a 53.1,” Sophie says.
While the championships were as perfect as Sophie had imagined, there was still something missing – her older sister Vivian, a 2021 Fox Chapel Area graduate who now attends MIT and swims with its women’s team. The two siblings are very close, and Vivian always shared wise advice, not only as a sister, but also as a fellow swimmer.
“We’re both doing our own thing now, but I know she’s supporting me from Boston, while I support her from here,” Sophie says. “She was busy with school and couldn’t watch, but she texted me and said, ‘Wow so proud of you’ and ‘insane’ afterward!”
So, what’s next for this phenom swimmer? She laughs and says, “I guess to beat my own records!”
She will need to do that sooner rather than later at states, where she will face her toughest competition to date.