Emma Wilson: Team GB Olympic Windsurfing double-medallist

Toby Heppell

Emma Wilson secured a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Windsurfing with a day to spare, she adds that medal to her bronze from Tokyo

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Britain’s Emma Wilson has dominated the Women’s Olympic Windsurfing event at Paris 2024 securing a medal with a day to spare. She adds this second medal to the bronze she won in Tokyo. From the outside that might seem like a simple repeat of medal success in windsurfing but in the three years since Tokyo the Windsurfing event has undergone a complete overhaul with the racing taking place on completely different equipment and with an entirely new race format.

Despite these significant changes to her event, Emma Wilson was expected to podium after a consistent season which saw her take silver or bronze at all the major class events – iQFOiL medal races see just three sailors fight it out for gold and we picked her out as a medal prospect in our Olympic Sailing form guide.

25-year-old Emma Wilson has swiftly risen through the ranks of international windsurfing, establishing herself as one of Britain’s premier sailors. Hailing from a sporting family in Christchurch, Dorset, Wilson’s journey has been marked by dedication, resilience, and passion for the sport.

Photo: Sander Van Der Borsch / World Sailing

Wilson’s mother, Penny Wilson (née Way), also competed in Olympic windsurfing in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and her brother, Dan Wilson, is also a professional sailor.

Emma’s early promise was evident when she clinched the U15 Techno 293 World Championships and the U15 RS event at just 12 years old. This success set the stage for a flourishing career, highlighted by her victories at the Youth Sailing World Championships in 2016 and 2017.

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Emma Wilson secured her first major senior medal at the 2018 RS:X European Championships, where she finished third. She continued to build on this momentum, placing third overall at the 2019 RS:X European Championships and narrowly missing a podium finish at the 2020 RS:X World Championships.

Photo: Sander Van Der Borsch / World Sailing

During much of this time she was pushing the then incumbent British Olympic Windsurfing representative Bryony Shaw whose Bronze was Team GB’s first ever women’s windsurfing medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

Having won a bronze medal in Tokyo, Emma Wilson faced a significant challenge as the RS:X class was replaced by the iQFOIL, a newer, faster board that foils above the water. Reflecting on this transition, Wilson told TeamGB that, “It was pretty hard at the start. There was a lot of crashing and quite a few injuries along the way. I broke my toe, had surgery on my arm, and tore a ligament in my hand”. Despite these setbacks, she embraced the challenge, giving herself three months to adapt to the new equipment. Her perseverance paid off as she found herself excelling in the new class, winning silver and bronze at the 2022 and 2023 European Championships, respectively.

Wilson’s achievements in the iQFOIL class have been remarkable. She medaled in every event in 2023 and she has carried this dominance into the Olympic windsurfing in Paris 2024 being the clear leader in the Opening Series, which was enough to guarantee her at least a bronze medal before the final day of competition.

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