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EMMA WILSON WINS BRONZE IN TOKYO

31/07/2021
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Emma Wilson claimed Team GB’s first sailing medal of Tokyo 2020 with a brilliant windsurfing bronze at Enoshima Bay.

Fantastic news hot off the press from Tokyo, Emma Wilson has won an Olympic Bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She managed to finish in second place in the final medal race in tough light wind conditions but it was not quite enough to overtake Lu Yunxiu of China who took the Gold and French sailor Charline Picon who won the final race and took Silver. Well done Emma!

 

Here is the Team GB Press Office report:

“Wilson’s mother Penny Way competed in two Olympics, finishing sixth and seventh at the 1992 and 1996 Games in Barcelona and Atlanta.

Those achievements led to her local council renaming the road to Christchurch Windsurfing Club in her honour – what will they now do for Wilson, who learned to surf there as a youngster?

Wilson had just missed out on the medals at recent World and European Championships and also finished fourth at the Olympic test regatta two years ago.

But she came into the double points medal race guaranteed an RS:X podium spot, with gold going to Yunxiu Lu of China while France’s Charline Picon picked up silver.

licensed-imageWilson’s bronze is Team GB’s first women’s windsurfing medal since Bryony Shaw claimed bronze in Beijing 13 years ago.

Wilson, 22, from Christchurch, Dorset, said: “Those conditions were so physical, I gave it everything and I’m super happy to get that medal. I just emptied my body out there, it’s amazing.

“I’ve come fourth so many times it means so much to finally get on the podium and to do it at the Olympics is great.

“My mum has been a big influence but there are so many other people too, my coaches and my training partners. This medal is not just for me but for everyone else.

“Of course you want to win a gold medal but I’ve many more years to come and I hope to be back. I just want to enjoy this moment, not many people get a medal at the Olympics and I need to be so grateful.

“I’m so sick of coming fourth, it doesn’t get much worse than that. I didn’t feel too much pressure and I just tried to keep smiling.

“I didn’t believe I’d be the first to get a medal but it’s cool and hopefully other people will get one too.”

And the British Sailing Team report:

Emma Wilson has won Britain’s first sailing medal at Tokyo 2020. Emma Wilson becomes only the second British female windsurfer to win an Olympic medal. Emma Wilson has won an Olympic bronze medal.

Whatever way you say it, it’s impressive and very exciting.

Emma went into Tokyo 2020 as the British windsurfing prodigy, the daughter of two-time Olympian Penny Wilson (nee Way).

There was a quiet expectation on Emma who has won multiple junior and youth world titles, and for a 22-year-old that could lead to pressure to perform at a debut Olympic Games. Emma herself was even starting to think she was going to be a perennial fourth place finisher. She admitted after that she was ‘sick of it’.

However, anyone who has been in contact with Emma in Japan has commented about how calm she has been, how she is taking everything in her stride and just enjoying the moment.

Emma certainly can enjoy her moment. What a way to get that fourth-place monkey off your back!

Going into medal race she needed to put a boat between herself and leader Lu from China. She needed to beat the Rio 2016 champion Charline Picon from France. A tough ask.

Emma sailed brilliantly in the medal race coming back from behind by picking the opposite side of the course to her rivals – a risky move. A move that paid off though from the position she was in.

Unfortunately it wasn’t enough as Picon crossed for a race win. Emma was ahead of Lu in second but the top three were the top three for a reason. No one could get in between Lu and Emma.

No matter what happened, Emma had guaranteed herself a medal before the race, and she fully deserved it. She was an Olympic medallist taking bronze.

Her male counterpart Tom Squires had been performing well all regatta in a very tough RS:X fleet. He was excelling in his favoured strong winds, and pulling out some good results in the light winds that he knows he struggles in.

Tom was in with a shot at a medal, but it was one light race too far. At 4-6 knots the wind gods weren’t on Tom’s side. He finished seventh in the medal race and seventh overall in what was a brilliant Olympic debut”

 

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