Connor Wilson (born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa, on 18 December 1996) is a South African alpine skier. He was the sole athlete competing for

South Africa at the 2018 Winter Olympics South Africa competed with only one athlete, alpine skier Connor Wilson, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country returned to the Winter Olympics after missing the 2014 Winter Olympics. Competitors The following is ...

Biography

Wilson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an Active Club member. He is attending the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

in veterinary sciences. where he skis with Mount Mansfield Ski Club in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He trains at various locations but his main base is the Afriski Mountain Resort in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

where he skis with Afriski Race Club. Wilson started skiing at age five but started alpine racing at age 15 when he attended Eaglebrook School in the USA for two years which had a race program. Once he returned to South Africa he was determined to carry on alpine ski racing and would drive six hours to Afriski Resort, Lesotho, first from Kwazulu Natal where he attended Kearsney College later from Johannesburg where he attended St. John's College. Wilson has been trained by Grant Stockman of Stockman Sports, New Zealand, and by Cedric Maret of Switzerland. In 2016/2017 he took a gap year and studied at the

Carrabassett Valley Academy Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA) is a private skiing, ski and snowboard academy in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain (Franklin County, Maine), Sugarloaf Mountain. Established in 1982, the school's alumni include Olym ...

and trained at Sugarloaf Mountain in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Connor Wilson is an accomplished equestrian, a certified rescue scuba diver, and a helicopter pilot. He got provincial riding colors in both Kwazulu Natal and Gauteng and represented SA at the All Africa Mauritian Friendship cup in 2015. He received the gold President's (Duke of Edinburgh) Award in 2015 while attending St. John's College, Johannesburg.

FIS tournaments

Wilson is the current South African National Slalom Champion. He won the South African National Alpine Ski Championships in 2016 and 2017. He was the South African National Junior Champion in 2014. Wilson competed at the annual FIS championships held in Tiffindell, South Africa and came in 16th at the CIT Arnold Lunn World Cup. At the FIS World Ski Championships in

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Wilson ranked 71st in the slalom finals and 54th at the giant slalom finals.

2018 Winter Olympics

On 1 February 2018, Wilson and three other South African athletes qualified to represent South Africa at the Olympics. Wilson the current South African slalom champion was chosen for South Africa's only slot in Alpine Skiing due to his superior

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a ...

ranking, FIS points and also being the only South African athlete to have qualified for the Olympics in giant slalom. He was the flag bearer for South Africa at the

2018 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations During the 2018 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, beginning at 20:00 KST (UTC+9) on 9 February 2018, athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations led their national delegations as they para ...

. He was accompanied by Peter Pilz and Sive Speelman and competed in the men's giant slalom and men's slalom tournaments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Connor 1996 births Olympic alpine skiers for South Africa South African male alpine skiers Sportspeople from Johannesburg Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Living people White South African people Alumni of Kearsney College Alumni of St John's College (Johannesburg)