What does it actually take to chase an Olympic dream with type 1 diabetes?
For Queensland sprint cyclist Sophie Watts, the answer involves a brakeless bike, a Pringle-shaped track, an Omnipod 5 Pod, and more mental arithmetic than most people do in a week.
Sophie is gunning for LA 2028, has a freshly minted PhD in sports science, and manages T1D every single day — not around training, but during it.
Here's her story.
Diagnosed at Four: When T1D is All You've Ever Known
Sophie doesn't really have a "before diabetes" chapter — because there wasn't one for very long.
She was diagnosed at just four years old, after her parents noticed the classic signs: constant fatigue, weight loss and frequent bathroom trips. Her mum still tells the story of how little Sophie was mostly just devastated she had to miss a birthday party that afternoon — completely unaware of what was actually unfolding.
Now, looking back, Sophie is incredibly matter-of-fact about it:
"I know my whole life has been something I have had to manage. I don't remember what it's like to not have to manage diabetes."
Her parents carried a huge load in those early years — waking up overnight to check blood sugars before CGMs existed, working with teachers at school, and learning to spot the signs when Sophie was too young to recognise them herself. Sophie says simply: "Mum and Dad did an absolutely huge job with me when I was a kid."
By late primary school, she was testing her own blood sugar, doing her own injections, and slowly taking the reins — all while falling in love with sport.
From Injections to Omnipod® 5: Finding the Tech That Fits
Managing T1D as an athlete isn't a "set and forget" situation. Sophie's tech journey reflects just how much trial, error and self-knowledge goes into finding what actually works.
Her current setup:
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Omnipod® 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System (tubeless insulin pump)
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Dexcom G7 CGM
How she got here:
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Got her first insulin pump at 13 and used it for about 10 years
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Switched to multiple daily injections when she started cycling — tubes, sand and sport weren't a great combination
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Stayed on injections for around five years before the mental load started wearing her down
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Switched to Omnipod 5 when she realised a tubeless pump could work with sport in a way a tubed pump never had for her.
She's honest about why she eventually needed to change again:
"I was getting a bit over doing the injections and finding that, like mentally, I was just a bit worn out from my injections and the calculations."
And the Omnipod 5 and Dexcom G7 combination? A genuine game changer:
"Having my pump and CGM talking to each other while I'm actually out doing the sport is something that I just haven't had access to before… and I think it's really, really helpful."
Sprint Cycling With T1D: Power, Speed and Blood Sugars
Forget what you think you know about cycling. Sophie isn't riding 200km road races — she's a track sprint cyclist.
That means:
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Racing indoors on a steeply banked velodrome
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Maximum three laps per race — efforts of 20 to 30 seconds or less
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A fixed-gear bike with no brakes
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A track she describes as "shaped a little bit like a Pringle… if you're not going fast enough you do actually slip off"
Before cycling, Sophie competed in surf lifesaving, athletics and netball. Managing T1D across all of those sports came with its own set of challenges — especially trying to keep a pump attached at the beach†.
"Particularly being on a pump and being with surf lifesaving, being at the beach, I found that quite tricky — just because of the sand and taking it off, but not wanting to take it off for an extended period of time."
Sprint cycling, it turns out, is actually one of the more T1D-manageable formats — short bursts with long rest periods in between, giving Sophie real time to check her CGM and adjust between efforts.
A Day in the Life: Sprint Training, Coffee and Constant T1D Maths
Most days for Sophie look busy on paper. But what you don't see in the calendar is all the invisible T1D thinking sitting underneath everything she does.
Training runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday — double days, with gym in the morning and track in the afternoon. Here's how a typical training day actually runs with T1D layered in:
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Morning: Breakfast, coffee, Activity Feature on the Omnipod 5 System about an hour before gym so her blood sugar target sits a little higher
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Gym warm-up: Aerobic, which tends to drop glucose — if she's at 6.5 mmol/L or below, she'll grab a lolly snake before starting
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Main gym session: High-intensity work spikes blood sugar, so Activity Feature comes off as the session ramps up
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Lunch: Full insulin dose, Activity Feature back on
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Pre-track snack: Reduced bolus to protect against lows during the aerobic warm-up
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Track session: Short sprints with long rests — enough time to check Dexcom and adjust carbs or insulin as needed
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Dinner: Reduced dose because by the end of a double day, she's highly sensitive to insulin
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Before bed: A correction if she's trending higher than she'd like
On rest days — beach trips to the Gold Coast, reading, coffee catch-ups with training friends — the management continues, just with a slightly different set of variables.
As Sophie puts it:
"It is really tough and the cognitive load is so much higher than someone who's not managing diabetes in that high performance environment."
"Can I Actually Do This With T1D?"
One of the most powerful things about Sophie's story is how confidently she answers this question: yes.
Nobody in her corner has ever told her T1D means she can't compete at the elite level — and she's been paying attention to the growing number of athletes with T1D competing at the top of their sports.
"I actually haven't had anyone tell me that. All my support team and the people I surround myself with — no one's told me that it's something that I can't achieve being a type one diabetic."
And she's aware of the ripple effect that visibility creates:
"Young kids seeing other people with diabetes do it… they then have that belief that they can do it as well."
If you live with type 1 diabetes and you love sport — or you're raising a kid who does — Sophie's story is a reminder of three things:
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High performance and T1D can absolutely co-exist
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The "right" tech changes across seasons of life and sport — and that's okay
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The team you build around you matters just as much as your insulin settings
Support, flexible tech, and a stubborn belief that big goals are still yours to chase. That combination might just be the real superpower.
Want to hear the full conversation? Catch Sophie's episode on The Stripped Pod, wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Ready to Reduce Your Diabetes Burden?
Like Sophie discovered, the right technology can free up mental space – giving you more energy to perform at the highest level. Thinking about Omnipod 5 for your diabetes management? Talk to your diabetes team or request a free Demo pod* to get a feeling of how a tubeless pump would fit into your lifestyle.
This blog post is sponsored by Insulet, the makers of Omnipod.
*The Demo Pod is a needle-free, non-functioning Pod. It will not deliver insulin. The Demo Pod does not include a physical Controller.
† The Pod has an IP28 rating for up to 7.6 meters for 60 minutes. The Controller is not waterproof
Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
The Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System is a single hormone insulin delivery system intended to deliver U-100 insulin subcutaneously for the management of type 1 diabetes in persons aged 2 and older requiring insulin. Refer to the Omnipod® 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System User Guide and www.omnipod.com/en-au/important/safety/information for complete safety information including indications, contraindications, warnings, cautions, and instructions. INS-OHS-03-2026-00222 V1.0