Rebekah Wilson

Rebekah 'Bex' Wilson (born 17 March 1991) is a British former bobsleigh brakewoman. She competed at the trials for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Rebekah Wilson
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1991-03-17) 17 March 1991
Manchester, England
Years active2010–present
Height1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb; 10.4 st)
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
Sport Bobsleigh
Event(s)Two-woman bobsleigh
ClubGB Bobsleigh
Coached byMorris Condon
Allyn Condon
Dominik Sherer
Updated on 17 February 2014.

Biography

Wilson was born on 17 March 1991 in Manchester, England.[1] She attended Navigation Road Primary School[2] and Wellington School.[3]

When Wilson was 9 years old, she took up athletics, after trialling several events including the 100m. She was a member of Altrincham Athletics Club.[1] At 14, Wilson changed clubs, moving to her present club of Sale Harriers. At 100 metres, she won five national titles, was a World Junior finalist at the 4 × 100 m relay. At 12 Wilson set a European Record for the 60m, which stands at present.[1]

Wilson was the Great British number one from the age of 18, but each year has to participate in a selection process.[3]

In 2010 Paula Walker approached Wilson's athletics coaches with regards to competing alongside Walker in the two-women bobsleigh.[1]

Wilson quit the national programme and UK Sport funding, and moved from the Great Britain bobsleigh headquarters in Bath back to her native Manchester, cutting her communications with British Bobsleigh for a year.[2] In the year leading up to the Olympics, she didn't practice at bobsleigh, but worked in a gym.[4] In order to pay for training, Wilson took on odd jobs, such as babysitting, waitressing, and working as a nail technician.[2] A year after Wilson's not competing at Vancouver, Walker and Wilson won a World Junior Championship together, re-uniting after Wilson's topping the GB trials.[1]

After the 2014 Winter Olympics Wilson retired from bobsleigh due to mental health problems and the retirement of Walker, subsequently undergoing intermittent treatment at the Priory Hospital for the next 18 months. As of July 2017, Wilson is a programme manager for the Diane Modahl Foundation, and plays for Women's Super Rugby side Waterloo Ladies.[5]

Olympics

Wilson trialled for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but finished fifth and was not selected.[1]

Wilson and Walker were announced as GBR1 for the two-women bobsleigh at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Wilson replaced Walker's partner for the previous season Gillian Cooke.[6] Walker and Wilson targeted a top-eight finish in the discipline, in order to preserve funding for Walker.[7] They competed on 18 February 2014,[8] finishing in 12th.[9]

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References
  1. "Rebekah 'Bex' Wilson". Team GB. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  2. Handler, Paul (7 February 2014). "Winter Olympics: Altrincham ace Bex eyes bobsleigh glory". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  3. Banks, Kate (19 August 2013). "Altrincham Winter Olympic hopeful appeals for sponsorship". Messenger. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  4. "Risk-taker Wilson wants to complete job in Sochi". Team GB. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  5. Roan, Dan (27 July 2017). "Rebekah Wilson: Ex-GB Olympic bobsleigher says pressure led to self-harm". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  6. Rose, Neil (9 October 2013). "Rebekah Wilson to partner Paula Walker in British Bobsleigh's lead team". The Bath Cronicle. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  7. "Walker and Wilson have the right chemistry in Sochi". Team GB. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  8. "Event Schedule". BBC. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  9. Jurejko, Jonathon & Barretto, Lawrence (19 February 2014). "Live Reporting". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
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