The South African skiing sensation recently placed first at the Grand Prix and the King’s Cup at Afriski in Lesotho, and now has his eye on getting gold in the upcoming South African Championships.
A very hopeful Wilson met up with The Gazette after writing his maths exam, which he said was a little difficult.
At times, Wilson’s skiing competitions clash with school activities and he explained how he feared letting his school work suffer as he didn’t want to let his school and teachers down because they offer him a lot of support.
The Dunkeld resident spoke about how he got into the sport. “I lived in the United States as a baby and started skiing when I was five years old. My family and I moved back to South Africa for a little while before going back to the States for two more years,” said Wilson.
“In those two years, I picked up skiing as a sport again as my school had a ski mountain and race competitions.”
Having never raced competitively before, Wilson was pleasantly surprised at how well he did.
“The rate at which I improved my skills and level of skiing surprised me, but I didn’t stop pushing to be even better,” said Wilson.
As he improved, Wilson said he started to compete in more professional competitions and has not looked back since.
He added, “There is no feeling like the one I get when I finish a course and cross that finish line. It’s a phenomenal feeling every time.”
Since moving back to South Africa and not living in a mountainous area, Wilson said being part of this sport has been seen as a little unusual, especially by his peers.
“I’m involved in horse riding at a provincial level and skiing at a national level – with most of the boys in my school involved in sports such as rugby, soccer and cricket. Not having been exposed to skiing, my choice of sport may seem strange to others,” he said jokingly.
