Trull rower Becky Wilde has turned a ‘long shot’ into a place at the Olympic Games. 

The 26-year-old fought to keep her British Rowing funding and battled through shoulder surgery to claim a spot on Team GB at Paris 2024 against the odds. 

Wilde combined with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne as the GB women’s double sculls finished second at the last chance ‘Regatta of Death’ to claim the 13th and final place at the Games.

“This is something I’ve dreamt of since I was a young girl,” said Wilde, who spent ten years as a swimmer and competed internationally for Wales.

“It was always my dream to make it in swimming and when swimming didn’t work out, for various reasons, that was still very much the goal. 

“I’ve just tried to enjoy each step on the journey but to make it to Paris is pretty incredible.”

Wilde’s first memory of rowing was watching Helen Glover and Heather Stanning at the London Olympics and hearing them in their interviews talking about the ‘Start’ programme. 

Enrolling in Start while studying at the University of Bath in 2017, Wilde will now join two-time Olympic champion Glover in Team GB’s rowing squad. 

Her prospects of making the Games looked bleak eight months ago.

In November 2023 she underwent surgery on compartment syndrome in her shoulder, risking missing crucial trial races, and was left fighting for her funding as a ‘spare’ rower without a place in a crew boat. 

“I’ve gradually been able to show what I can do in testing,” said Wilde. “I knew I could do it, but it was always a very long shot. 

“I knew I could do it but I took a lot of people by surprise, including myself I guess. I’ve had huge doubts in myself at times and not had the confidence that other people had.

“But I’ve never given up on that dream no matter how impossible it seemed. I was fighting to stay in the team, then for a place in a boat, then for the Olympics, and I’ve finally ticked all of those boxes. It’s so rewarding, people have had a lot of faith in me and it’s great to repay that.”

British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain.

The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to https://britishrowing.org/