Stuart Benson
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 12 February 1981 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 103 kg (227 lb; 16.2 st) |
| Spouse | Sarah Benson |
| Website | http://www.stubenson.com |
| Sport | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Sport |  Bobsleigh |
| Event | Four-Man bobsleigh |
| Club | GB Bobsleigh, Bath |
| Coached by | Dominik Scherrer Peter Gunn Michael Khmel |
| Updated on 18 February 2014 | |
Stuart Benson (born 12 February 1981) is a bobsledder who competes for Team GB, and an avionics technician in the Royal Air Force. His Olympics debut is at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the four-man bobsleigh, competing with John James Jackson, Bruce Tasker, and Joel Fearon.
Biography
Benson was born 12 February 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland.[1] He grew up in Troon.[2]
Benson is in the Royal Air Force, working as an avionics technician[1] since the age of 20.[3] He currently holds the rank of corporal.[4][2] Wilst in the RAF, Benson competed with the RAF Athletics Team in the long jump and triple jump.[2] Benson moved into sprinting, running in the fastest Scottish relay team for 16 years; and competing in the Crystal Palace Diamond League.[1][2] However, the relay was not fast enough to qualify for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.[1] This led him to try out at a bobsleigh "talent identification" event in 2011, where he was discovered in bobsleigh.[1] This led to his becoming part of the GBR1 bobsleigh team; at the end of summer 2011 he was selected into the four-man GBR1 team.[5]
In 2011 Benson won the Royal Air Force Sportsman of the Year, mainly for his track sport achievements.[6]
Benson is married to Sarah Benson, who is a long distance runner.[3]
In 2013 the four-man bobsleigh team won a silver medal at the European Championships.[7]
Olympics
Benson's debut Olympics is set to be the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,[1] and he was given special dispensation for time off from the RAF to attend.[5] Competition there for the four-man bobsleigh event began on 22 February 2014.[4] The British Olympic Association had qualified the GBR1 four-man bobsleigh team as on the "podium programme", i.e. that they have a chance of winning a medal.[5] Benson competed with John James Jackson, Bruce Tasker, and Joel Fearon; of whom only Jackson was experienced, Tasker, Fearon and Benson were all comparatively new to the sport.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Stuart Benson". Team GB. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Cosford airman aiming for gold in bobsleigh". The Shropshire Star. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ a b "GB Bobsleigh Team Jackson". Stuart Benson. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Stuart Benson aims for flying start at Sochi". The Shropshire Star. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Scottish athlete, who had never seen a bobsleigh until 18 months ago, is now tipped for Winter Olympic glory". The Daily Record. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Stuart Benson". Sochi.ru. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Hope, Nick (26 January 2014). "GB bobsleigh quartet warm up for Sochi 2014 with silver medal". BBC. Retrieved 18 February 2014.