Nationality British Event(s) Four-Man bobsleigh Weight 103 kg Years active 2011–present Name Stuart Benson Spouse Sarah Benson (m. 2013) | Country Great Britain Role Bobsledder Club Bath Sport Bobsleigh Height 1.95 m Siblings Andrew Benson | |
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Born 12 February 1981 (age 43) ( 1981-02-12 ) Glasgow, Scotland Profiles | ||
Photoshoot for John Jackson, Joel Fearon, Bruce Tasker and Stu Benson - GB Bobsleigh Road to Sochi
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.
Contents
- Photoshoot for John Jackson Joel Fearon Bruce Tasker and Stu Benson GB Bobsleigh Road to Sochi
- Biography
- Olympics
- References
Biography
Benson was born 12 February 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in Troon.
Benson is in the Royal Air Force, working as an avionics technician since the age of 20. He currently holds the rank of corporal. Wilst in the RAF, Benson competed with the RAF Athletics Team in the long jump and triple jump. Benson moved into sprinting, running in the fastest Scottish relay team for 16 years; and competing in the Crystal Palace Diamond League. However, the relay was not fast enough to qualify for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. This led him to try out at a bobsleigh "talent identification" event in 2011, where he was discovered in bobsleigh. 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.
In 2011 Benson won the Royal Air Force Sportsman of the Year, mainly for his track sport achievements.
Benson is married to Sarah Benson, who is a long distance runner.
In 2013 the four-man bobsleigh team won a silver medal at the European Championships.
Olympics
Benson's debut Olympics is set to be the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and he was given special dispensation for time off from the RAF to attend. Competition there for the four-man bobsleigh event began on 22 February 2014. 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. 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.