Victoria Williamson

Victoria "Vicky" Williamson (born 15 September 1993) is an elite British bobsledder and former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint disciplines. In 2013, with Rebecca James, she won the bronze medal in the team sprint at the World Track Cycling Championships.

Victoria Williamson
Williamson in 2015
Personal information
Full nameVictoria Eve Williamson
NicknameVics
Born (1993-09-15) 15 September 1993[1]
Hevingham, England, UK
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Team information
Current teamVC Norwich
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprint Track
Medal record
Women's track cycling
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2013 MinskTeam sprint

Early life

Williamson was educated at Norwich High School for Girls.[2] At the suggestion of one of her coaches at the City of Norwich Athletic Club, she switched from athletics to cycling in 2008.[1][3] She entered the Girls4Gold programme, a group that searches for talented athletes with a potential for cycling, before being accepted into the Olympic Development Programme (ODP).[4] She then progressed onto the elite Podium Programme two years later, and made her senior debut at the 2013 World Championships in Minsk.

Career

At the 2011 Juniors Track World Championships in Moscow, she won a silver in the 500m time trial, a bronze in the sprint and came fifth in the keirin.[5] She made her senior world debut very shortly after, and won a bronze medal with partner Becky James in the team sprint at the 2013 Track World Championships in Minsk, Belarus.[6] Since then she continues to compete at an international level, picking up numerous medals. In 2017 she signed with Under Armour.

Crash and marriage

In January 2016 Williamson was involved in a traumatic crash with Dutch rider Elis Ligtlee, at the during an omnium sprint race at Six Days of Rotterdam (Zesdaagse Rotterdam). The collision with the fence resulted in Williamson suffering a broken neck and back, dislocating her pelvis and slipping a disc in her neck.[7] Williamson's racing number burned her skin in the crash and according to her if it had become infected she would have had plastic surgery.

Williamson was left with a loss of feeling in her left leg, her starting leg, due to a trapped nerve but was hoping for full feeling by mid 2018. During this period she married Oliver Barnes. She hoped to complete her rehabilitation by the end of January and to race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[8]

Return to track cycling

2018 saw the separation of her marriage. In late January 2019, three years after suffering career-threatening injuries, Williamson returned to competition. The now 25-year-old took part in the GB Cycling Team for sprint events for the 2018–19 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong.[9] and qualified for the 2019 Track World Championships.[10]

Switch to bobsleigh

In December 2019 Williamson announced that she was switching from cycling to bobsleigh, having participated in her first training camp with the British bobsleigh team.[11]

Palmarès
2009
2nd Sprint, British National Track Championships – U16
2010
1st Sprint, British National Track Championships – Junior
2nd 500m TT, British National Track Championships – Junior
2011
2nd 500m TT, UCI Track World Championships – Junior
3rd Sprint, UCI Track World Championships – Junior
1st Sprint, British National Track Championships – Junior
1st 500m TT, British National Track Championships – Junior
3rd Sprint, British National Track Championships
3rd Keirin, British National Track Championships
2012
2nd Sprint, British National Track Championships
2nd Keirin, British National Track Championships
2nd 500m TT, British National Track Championships
2013
3rd Team sprint, UCI Track World Championships (with Becky James)
2nd 500m TT, British National Track Championships
3rd Team sprint, UEC European U23 Track Championships (with Becky James)
2014
Open des Nations sur Piste de Roubaix
1st Team Sprint (with Jessica Varnish)
3rd Sprint
Track Cycling World Cup
3rd Team sprint, Round 3, Guadalajara (with Dannielle Khan)[12]
2nd Sprint, Revolution – Round 4, Manchester
2nd, British National Team Sprint Championships (with Katy Marchant)[13]
2nd 500m time trial, British National Track Championships[14]
3rd Individual sprint, British National Track Championships[15]
2015
Revolution
1st Sprint – Round 4, Glasgow
2nd Keirin – Round 4, Glasgow
2nd British National Team Sprint Championships (with Shanaze Reade)[16]
2nd 500m time trial, British National Track Championships[17]
3rd Individual Sprint, British National Track Championships[18]
UEC European U23 Track Championships
2nd Team Sprint (with Katy Marchant)
3rd Sprint

References
  1. "GB Cycling Team Rider Biography". British Cycling. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  2. "Mrs Robinson praises London 2012 female role models". The Merchant Taylors' Schools. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  3. Bailey, Michael (4 October 2011). "What a year for Norfolk's British Cycling track starlet Victoria Williamson". Norwich Evening News. Archant Community Media Limited. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  4. "Q and A with Norfolk cyclist Victoria Williamson". Dare2Dream. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. "Junior World Track Championships 2011". Cycling Weekly. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  6. Bevan, Chris (20 February 2013). "World Track Cycling 2013: Great Britain win silver and bronze". Minsk, Belarus: BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  7. "Williamson 'lucky not to be paralysed'". BBC Sport.
  8. "Barnes eyes return after crash recovery". BBC Sport.
  9. Bevan, Chris (22 January 2019). "World Track Cycling 2013: Great Britain win silver and bronze". Eurosport. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  10. "Track Cycling World Championships: Victoria Williamson set for return after crash". BBC Sport. 26 February 2019.
  11. "Medal-winning sprint cyclist Vicky Williamson switches to bobsleigh". theguardian.com. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  12. "Track World Cup: Britain win two bronze medals in Mexico". bbc.co.uk. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  13. "National Track Championships: Varnish & Trott among winners". bbc.co.uk. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  14. "National Track Championships: Jess Varnish wins time trial title". bbc.co.uk. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  15. "Report and Results From Day Three". British Cycling. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  16. "British National Track Championships 25th-27th September 2015: Results - Team Female" (PDF). British Cycling. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  17. "British National Track Championship 25th-27th September 2015: Results: Female: 500m Time Trial" (PDF). British Cycling. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  18. "British National Track Championships 25th-27th September 2015: Communiqué No 22: Category Female: Event Sprint: Round Final Result" (PDF). British Cycling. Retrieved 27 September 2015.

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