Paralympian swimming champ Dame Sophie Pascoe announces engagement to Rob Samson

Dame Sophie Pascoe and fiance Rob Samson announce their engagement. Photo / Supplied

Champion Paralympic swimmer Dame Sophie Pascoe has tonight announced her engagement, revealing she said the biggest yes when the question was popped.

A stellar year just keeps getting better for the woman regarded as a national treasure and the youngest person to be awarded the title of Dame in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.

Posting a selfie on social media embracing fiance Rob Samson, her dazzling diamond ring on full display, the 29-year-old was beaming sharing the happy news.

“I said the biggest YES to forever with @rddsamson!” she wrote on Instagram and Facebook, embellished with a diamond ring emoji.

Adding the hashtags “engaged” and “loveofmylife”, the newly-engaged couple were showered with messages of congratulations from fellow athletes and personalities from across New Zealand.

“Yewwww! Congrats team,” replied New Zealand Olympic swimmer Lewis Clareburt.

“Aww CONGRATULATIONS to you both!!! Sooo exciting,” said former Olympian Angie Petty.

“Congratulations beautiful,” wrote The Hits host Laura McGoldrick.

The pair have been together since 2020 when Samson moved in with Pascoe during the first Level 4 lockdown.

According to LinkedIn Samson is a chartered civil engineer, and employed as a senior structural engineer at Kotahi.

Next month Pascoe competes in her third consecutive New Zealand Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She has recently posted pictures of herself training in the pool in preparation for the eagerly-anticipation sporting competition that gets under way on July 28.

Sophie Pascoe didn’t think twice about saying yes to husband-to-be Rob Samson. Photo / Dean Purcell

The Paralympian, who lost part of her leg when she was 2 years old in a lawnmower accident, is our most decorated athlete, with 19 medals, including 11 gold, and world champion many times over.