Emma Wilson (sailor)

Emma Wilson (born 7 April 1999) is a British windsurfer who won a bronze medal in the RS:X event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She won the RS:X events at the Youth Sailing World Championships in 2016 and 2017, and won medals at the 2018 and 2019 RS:X European Championships, and the 2022 and 2023 IQFoil European Championships.

Emma Wilson
Personal information
Born (1999-04-07) 7 April 1999
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Sailing career
Class(es)RS:X, IQFOiL, Techno 293
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 TokyoRS:X
Youth Sailing World Championships
Silver medal – second place2015 LangkawiRS:X
Gold medal – first place2016 AucklandRS:X
Gold medal – first place2017 SanyaRS:X
RS:X European Championships
Bronze medal – third place2018 SopotRS:X
Silver medal – second place2019 PalmaRS:X
IQFoil European Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 TorboleiQFoil
Bronze medal – third place2023 PatrasiQFoil

Personal life

Emma Wilson was born on 7 April 1999 in Nottingham.[1] She grew up in Christchurch, Dorset.[1][2] She is the daughter of Penny Wilson (née Way),[3] who competed at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.[2][4] Her older brother Dan is also a professional sailor.[3] When she was younger, Wilson played hockey at regional level in addition to sailing.[3]

Career

Wilson has trained alongside Bryony Shaw, who won bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1][4] Aged 12, she won the U15 Techno 293 World Championships,[1][5] and the U15 RS:X event.[5] In 2015, she came second at the RS:X event at the Youth Sailing World Championships.[1][6] She later won the event in 2016,[1][7] and 2017.[1][8] She won the 2017/18 UK Windsurfing Association Windsurfer of the Year award.[9]

At the 2018 Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, Wilson won the opening RS:X race by over a minute.[10] She eventually finished fourth at the event.[11] In the same year, she came 6th at the Sailing World Cup event in Enoshima,[4] and came third at the RS:X European Championships in Gdańsk, Poland.[12] She came third overall, and second European, at the 2019 RS:X European Championships in Palma de Mallorca,[13] and came fourth at the 2020 RS:X World Championships, 11 points behind third place.[14]

Wilson qualified to compete in the RS:X event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[2][11][15] After the Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021, British Sailing confirmed that their squad selection were unchanged, and so Wilson was still selected for the Games.[16] She finished fourth in the Olympic test event in 2019.[11][15]

At the Games, Wilson finished first, second and fourth in the three races on the second day, finishing the day second overall, tied on points with leader Charline Picon.[17] On the third day of racing at the Games, Wilson won two of the three races, and moved into first place overall.[18] After the fourth and final day of heats, Wilson was second behind China's Lu Yunxiu.[19] She eventually finished third in the event.[20]

In 2022, Wilson came second at the IQFoil European Championships, her first major event in the iQFoil class.[21] She won the 2023 Trofeo Princesa Sofía event,[22] and came third at the 2023 IQFoil European Championships.[23]

References
  1. "Emma Wilson". British Sailing Team. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  2. Wilson, Jeremy (27 February 2020). "Tokyo 2020 windsurfer Emma Wilson on life on the waves and following in her Olympian mother's wake". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  3. Falkingham, Katie (22 May 2019). "Emma Wilson: GB windsurfer on following in two-time Olympian mother's footsteps". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. Rice, Andy (20 September 2018). "Emma Wilson: junior RS:X sailor's meteoric rise through the Olympic ranks – fuelled by 'fun'". Yachts & Yachting. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  5. "Youth windsurfers win five world medals". UK Boats. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. "45TH ISAF YOUTH SAILING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2015: 27 December 2015 to 3 January 2016, Langkawi, Malaysia". World Sailing World Cup. 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  7. "New Zealand 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships". World Sailing World Cup. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  8. "China 2017 Youth Sailing World Championships". World Sailing World Cup. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. "Emma Wilson wins UKWA Windsurfer of the Year Award". Windsurfing UK. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  10. "Windsurfing: Emma Wilson on-form in World Championships". Dorset Echo. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. Staniforth, Mark (7 March 2020). "International Women's Day: 10 to watch in Tokyo". Team GB. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  12. "Olympic Sailing: British windsurfer Emma Wilson claims first world championship medal". Yacht Racing Life. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. "Trio of medals for Britain's Emma Wilson at RS:X European Championships". Sail World. 14 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  14. Davies, Ryan (3 March 2020). "Olympics-bound Wilson bags fourth at World Championships". The New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  15. Crocker, Tom (2 October 2019). "Christchurch star Emma Wilson follows in mother's footsteps in receiving Olympic call-up". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  16. "Tokyo Olympics: Hannah Mills delays retirement to compete at 2021 Games". BBC Sport. 14 April 2020. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. "Olympic sailing: Confused seas and sailors on day 2". Yachting World. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  18. "Christchurch's Emma Wilson storms into windsurfing Olympic gold position". The New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  19. "Sailing-Yachtsmen 'tack on' to grab Olympic advantage". Reuters. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  20. "Tokyo Olympics: Great Britain's Emma Wilson wins bronze in women's windsurfing". BBC Sport. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  21. "Great Britain's Emma Wilson wins windsurfing silver at European Championships in Italy". BBC Sport. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  22. "52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca - 2023".
  23. "iQFOiL Europeans – Bronze for Britain's Emma Wilson". Sail Web. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
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