ROWING Somerset's Wilde wins through to Paris Olympics

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Created on Sunday, 26 May 2024 04:08

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 May 2024 06:42

Published on Sunday, 26 May 2024 04:08

Written by TEAM BATH PRESS OFFICE

University of Bath Rowing Club’s Becky Wilde is set to compete at Paris 2024 after successfully securing a women’s double sculls space for Team GB at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Wilde, 26 and in her first full season with the senior GB Rowing Team, and partner Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne needed a top-two finish in the final and achieved that in style as they comfortably finished runners-up to Czechia.

It is an outstanding achievement for Somerset-born Wilde, who was a swimmer when she first arrived at the University of Bath in 2017 to study Sport and Social Sciences before transitioning to rowing at the end of her first year.

She joined the British Rowing Start Programme, now known as the Performance Development Academy (PDA), which is based at the Team Bath Sports Training Village and has previously produced such talent as double Olympic Champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning as well as Rio 2016 silver-medallist Vicky Thornley and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Sara Parfett.

British Rowing Senior Performance Development Coach Dan Harris, who has been with the Bath PDA for 13 years, worked with Wilde from her switch to the sport and said: “It is an awesome achievement by Becky and we are massively proud to see her go from a beginner here to an Olympic qualifier. It’s not been plain sailing, she had had injuries along the way, but she is resilient, she is tough and she’s got her reward.”

Wilde, who was supported by a Santander Sporting Scholarship while combining study and rowing at the University, went as a reserve to a couple of GB Rowing Team training camps around Christmas with the aim of gaining experience towards Los Angeles 2028.

However, she impressed selectors with her performances in training and trials, securing a place in the women’s double along with Tokyo Olympian Hodgkins Byrne who is returning to the sport after becoming a mother.

“It’s a cliché but we always tell our rowers ‘when the opportunity knocks, be ready’ and that’s exactly what Becky did,” Harris added. “There are people still on the Bath PDA programme who were here with Becky and for our current rowers to see what she has achieved is truly inspiring and a big motivation.”

Trials for the British Rowing Bath PDA take place throughout the year and are open to women aged 14-22 who are 178cm or taller and men aged 14-20 who are 188cm or taller. Trialists need no previous rowing experience, just the right physique and attitude to give rowing a go.

For more information about trialling for the Bath PDA please email Tom Selby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Dan Harris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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