Windsurfer Emma among first to be picked for Tokyo Olympics

CHRISTCHURCH windsurfer Emma Wilson is one of the first Team GB athletes to be announced for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Wilson, who competes in the RS:X fleet, was among 12 sailors selected in Tuesday’s statement from Team GB.

She said after the announcement: “I’m really happy. It feels a bit surreal – going to the Olympic Games is a dream I’ve had since I was a kid.

"I was always into sport in school, I tried to do as many sports as I possibly could, and I saw Kelly Holmes win her gold medal on the TV and just thought – ‘I want to be like her’.

“I didn’t think I would be selected, to be honest. I was just sitting in Japan the day after the test event medal race and Ian Walker came and told me he wanted a chat – luckily that chat was a good one and I was so happy. It was a nice moment in the end.

Wilson will follow in her mother’s footsteps who represented Great Britain in windsurfing at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.

“It’s cool my mum has been before, and I think it can help me. I think she is pretty proud of me. She is a part of it as well, though. She, my dad, my brother, they are all part of this journey and help me so much and now I have this relief that I can go to an Olympic Games after everyone’s hard work.”

It has been a busy few months for the 20-year-old as she finished fourth in a Tokyo 2020 testing event, claimed fifth in the RS:X world cup in Enoshima last month and she secured 12th place in the RS:X world championships in Lake Garda, Italy, this week.

Wilson started strongly but some high-scoring races on the final two days saw her miss out on the medal race by one point. However, Wilson did not go home empty-handed as she claimed the bronze medal in the under-21 fleet behind Israel’s Katy Spychakov and Italy’s Gio Speciale.

Wilson also told the A&T that her experience in Japan this summer would help her next year: “I was in Japan for two months this summer, training, getting used to the different conditions. I think if I learnt anything, its that I've got to be prepared for anything, any wind or wave condition, its an awesome place to windsurf and I'm really looking forward to some hard and fun winter training!”