Ross Wilson (born December 10, 1981) is a Canadian para-cyclist.

Early life

Wilson was born on December 10, 1981 in

Sherwood Park Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is located adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary, generally south of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Trail), ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Career

In his 20s, Wilson began noticing his gait changing and he would constantly be rolling his ankles. He was eventually diagnosed with

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy of the peripheral nervous system characterized by progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation across various parts of the body. This disease is the mos ...

, a neurological condition that affected his nerves and muscles. After losing over 100 pounds, he bought himself a bike to stay active and continue to lose weight. He subsequently joined the Juventus Cycling Club in 2012 where he met coach Cam Jennings. By 2014, he joined the Argyll Velodrome Association and raced in the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. While training for the

2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships were the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place on the roads of Nottwil in Switzerland from 29 July to 2 August 2015. Italy were ...

, Wilson was struck by a car backing out of a parking spot. As his body flew through the back window, he broke his clavicle, some ribs, and vertebrae. However, he recovered by 2016 and was named to Team Canada's roster for the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. To qualify for the Paralympics, Wilson set a new world and Paralympic record at 3:53.66, which was beaten five minutes later by Zhangyu at 3:50.373. Wilson ended his first Paralympic Games with two silver medals; one in men’s c1 individual pursuit and another in the men’s c1 road time trial. In 2017, Wilson earned a gold medal at the 2017 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in the C1 men's 3,000 metre individual pursuit. He would later take home a silver medal at the

2017 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2017 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships is the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place on the roads of Pietermaritzburg in South Africa from 31 August to 3 September 201 ...

, losing to Germany’s

Michael Teuber Michael Teuber (born 23 January 1968) is a German para-cyclist competing in C1 classification events. Teuber has represented Germany in four Summer Paralympic Games and is a multiple medal winner in both road and track disciplines. He has been ...

. The following year, Wilson earned a silver medal after finishing 2.362 seconds behind Ricardo Argiles at the

2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling with athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 22–25 March 2018. 31 events were held on the ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also earned a bronze medal at the

2019 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2019 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships is the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place in Emmen in The Netherlands from 11 to 15 September 2019. Medalists Medal ta ...

. At the

2018–19 UCI Track Cycling World Cup The 2018–19 UCI Track Cycling World Cup (also known as the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a multi-race tournament over a track cycling season. It was the 27th series of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup organised b ...

, Wilson set a new world record for the C1 Men’s Individual Pursuit with a time of 3:49.450.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ross Living people 1981 births Canadian male cyclists Cyclists from Alberta Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in cycling Paralympic cyclists for Canada Sportspeople at the 2015 Parapan American Games