Coming from a family of top level windsurfers, Britain’s Emma Wilson is guaranteed a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing competitionIt can be tough following in the footsteps of a two-time Olympian parent, but Emma Wilson is well on track to do just that.
\nFrom planing on the front of mum Penny\u2019s board as a toddler Wilson has come a long way, demonstrating her potential as a future sailing Olympian by excelling among the youth and junior ranks at world level.
\nWindsurfing Wilsons
\nEmma\u2019s mum, Penny became the Women\u2019s\u2019 World Racing Champion in 1986. Then won it again in 1990 and 1991. She finished 6th at the 1992 Olympic Games\u00a0 sailing the then Olympic windsurfer, the Mistral in Barcelona and again in the 1996 games in Atlanta.
\nPenny gained significant recognition with appearances on BBC question of sport and even has a road named after her in Christchurch. She stopped being a full time windsurfer in 1996 following the Atlanta Olympics, aged 34, to start a family eventually having two children, Emma and 18 month older brother Dan Wilson, who has also been a part of the British Sailing Windsurfing team.
\nEmma Wilson: Youth champion
\nEmma\u2019s first taste of a world title was at the age of just 12 when she took the U15 Techno 293 World Championship. Moving to the Olympic class windsurfer Wilson\u2019s success continued with the RS:X Youth Worlds title in 2014.
\nAfter just missing out on the Youth Worlds title to future Rio 2016 bronze medallist Russia\u2019s Stefania Elfutina in 2015 Wilson would show her drive to succeed coming back to win consecutive Youth Worlds golds in 2016 and 2017. Since then she has fast been becoming a regular fixture in the medal races at senior level.
\nBritain\u2019s Emma Wilson competing in Tokyo 2020. Photo: Sailing energy \/ World Sailing
\nBritish RS:X success
\nWith the Emma Wilson\u2019s determination and will to win, she performed well in the RS:X but being a part of the British Sailing Team has its advantages and disadvantages.
\nOn the one hand Emma Wilson got to train against three-time olympic and two-time bronze medallist, Bryony Shaw. On the other, with only one Olympic spot open to each nation, she would have to beat the experienced Shaw, should she want to represent Britain at the 2016 Olympics. Ultimately it was Shaw who prevailed \u2013 winning her second bronze, though she was one of the favourites for gold ahead of the competition.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWho is Hannah Mills, Britain\u2019s 2020 Olympic flagbearer?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe British sailing team\u2019s Hannah Mills has been selected to carry the Union Jack in the Olympic opening ceremony tomorrow,\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiles Scott: Can the Brit secure a second gold in Tokyo?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiles Scott is waiting. Like all of this year\u2019s Olympic cohort, he is in a strange pre-Games limbo. Normally at\u2026<\/p>\n
Playing second fiddle to an established name is a constant in the world of Olympic sailing and many talented sailors have to wait their turn, particularly those competing for the strongest sailing nations. Giles Scott played understudy to Ben Ainslie in the Finn for many years, before he was finally able to get the nod of the selectors for Rio 2016 where he immediately picked up gold.
\nIn recent years, however, Wilson has matured and with Shaw moving on from the Olympic circuit her time had come for Tokyo 2020. Wilson has enjoyed success in Japan in the lead up to these games, finishing fourth in the Olympic test event and take fifth in the RS:X World Cup in 2019.
\nMedal in the bag
\nThe Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s RS:X windsurfers where the first fleets to get their racing underway in Enoshima \u2013 the venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition. As such they will also be the first to finish their regattas, with both fleets competing in their medal race on Saturday 31 July 2021.
\nHowever, despite the medal race counting for double points \u2013 sailing\u2019s way of trying to encourage an exciting denouement to olympic racing, by making a fight for medal more likely in the final race \u2013 Emma Wilson is already guaranteed a medal. The only question on Saturday on the waters of Enoshima will be which colour that medal might be.
\nBritain\u2019s Emma Wilson leading the field in the Women\u2019s windsurfer (RS:X) in the early part of the Olympic regatta in Tokyo 2020. Photo: Sailing Energy \/ World Sailing
\nWilson led the fleet for much of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing competition, only losing the lead to China\u2019s Yunxiu Lu on the final day of racing. The fight for gold will be between these two and third place overall, the supremely talented Charline Picon from France, who claimed the gold medal in emphatic style in Rio 2016.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s sunk in yet. My coach told me on the rib [of guaranteeing a medal] and it\u2019s an amazing feeling. I\u2019ve watched the Olympics since I was a little kid and it\u2019s always been a dream. And finally I haven\u2019t come fourth as well which is so good because I\u2019m sick of it,\u201d Wilson said after racing on Thursday 29 July.
\n\u201cI\u2019m super happy. One more race I can just give everything for and see what can happen.
\n\u201cI had really good speed the last few days and that was really good. I have to say thank you to the lads in Weymouth who\u2019ve trained with me. They all helped me so much. It\u2019s an amazing feeling.
\n\u201cI want to ring my brother as well because he has been pushing me since I was a little kid as well. That\u2019s gonna be cool.
\n\u201cI kept my cool when it was tight. Obviously today was harder than any other day because I had to think more about the other people but I think I\u2019m really proud of how I\u2019ve approached the whole event.\u201d
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Coming from a family of top level windsurfers, Britain’s Emma Wilson is guaranteed a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing competitionIt can be tough following in the footsteps of a two-time Olympian parent, but Emma Wilson is well on … <\/p>\n