Emma Wilson (sailor)

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]

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 has qualified to competed in the RS:X event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[2][11][15] She finished fourth in the Olympic test event.[11][15]