Penrith paddler Sophie Wilson making big splash in canoe kayak
Penrith teenager Sophie Wilson had dreams of representing Australia on the world stage as a gymnast but her body had different ideas. Now she’s doing it in a completely different sport.
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By the age of 12 Sophie Wilson had to quit a sport she loved due to back injury. Now she’s found another she loves even more.
Penrith’s Sophie Wilson so wanted to be an Olympic gymnast she suffered through three stress fracture in her back, bulging discs and associated pain before quitting the sport at age 12.
At age 16 the talented teenager is now plotting a course to a future Games in a completely different sport and having a wet and wild time doing it.
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“When I was eight after the first injury I went back and did it again, then it happened again when I was 10 and 12,” she said.
“I just loved it but I had to give it up.
“I wanted to be a gymnast at the Olympics.
“My sister did dancing and she injured her knee and got into kayaking. That’s how I got into it, I just decided to give it a go.
“I thought the whitewater would be really fun and exciting. I went and loved it.”
Despite being unable to paddle in a straight line at the start, Wilson’s determination to success has established her as a rising star of Australian whitewater canoe kayaking.
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The teenager is already under the protective wing of the greatest female paddler of all time, fellow local Jessica Fox, and has even raced in a team with the two-time Olympic medallist.
“She is fierce,’’ Wilson said.
And while too young to compete in Tokyo, Wilson is a potential candidate for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The K1 and C1 paddler recently mad her first senior final at a major meet, a results which followed on from her winning every race she contested at the Age championships in Tasmania.
She is now on course to make her second Australian team for a junior world championships after competing last year injured.
“I didn’t do the best as I had an incident and fell off my bike and injured my wrist,’’ Wilson said.
“I found out later I had to have surgery on it because I had torn the cartilage off the ulna.’’