Hannah Wilson

Hannah Wilson
Hannah Wilson in 2009.
Personal information
Full nameHannah Jane Arnett Wilson
NicknameHanz
National team Hong Kong
Born (1989-03-10) 10 March 1989 (age 35)
Hong Kong
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly, freestyle
College teamUniversity of California, Berkeley
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Hong Kong
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 4×100 m medley
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2009 Belgrade 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2009 Belgrade 100 m butterfly
East Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2009 Hong Kong 4x100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2009 Hong Kong 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong 4×100 m medley

Hannah Jane Arnett Wilson OLY (Chinese: 韋漢娜; pinyin: Wèi Hànnà; Jyutping: wai6 hon3 naa4; born 10 March 1989) is a Hong Kong retired amateur swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic swimmer for Hong Kong, having swum at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has won two career Universiade gold medals. As of July 11, 2009, Wilson currently holds 10 Hong Kong records and two Universiade records in swimming.

However, she struggled but eventually received the International Olympic Committee's permission to race in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Originally the IOC's policy would have barred Wilson from representing Hong Kong (she held a British passport, and being still a minor she could not renounce her British citizenship), which was a cause for distress throughout Hong Kong.[1] She has since renounced her British citizenship to take up Chinese citizenship and a Hong Kong SAR passport in her pursuit to represent Hong Kong in swimming for at least the next decade.[2]

At the 2006 Asian Games, she was a member of the bronze medal-winning team in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley,[3][4][5][6] after attending Peak School from 1994 to 2000 and Island School from 2000 to 2007. She was recommended to attend the University of California, Berkeley by her 2006 Asian Games bronze medal-winning teammate Tsai Hiu Wai, who was the former swimming captain of the California Golden Bears. Her college teammates include 2008 Summer Olympics 100 m backstroke gold medalist Natalie Coughlin and 4 × 100 m freestyle relay silver medalist Emily Silver. The California Golden Bears are coached by Teri McKeever, the United States assistant coach at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

She retired from competitive swimming following the 2012 Olympics.[7] She now works in Hong Kong.

  1. ^ Sallay, Alvin (2004-02-29). "Olympic chiefs shut out top HK athletes: New rule requires SAR passport for all competitors at Athens". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  2. ^ "2012 Olympic Profile: Hannah Wilson Swims for Hong Kong". The Wall Street Journal. 2012-07-11.
  3. ^ http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-swim/mtt/wilson_hannah00.html%7Cpublisher=CalBears.com[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Cal Signs Eight New Golden Bears". CalBears.com. 2006-11-17. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  5. ^ "Olympic Q&A with Hannah Wilson – Athens veteran talks about 2004, Hong Kong, coming to the United States". calbears.cstv.com. 2008-07-28. Archived from the original on 2008-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  6. ^ "Cal Athletics: 2008 Summer Olympians – Hannah Wilson". mefeedia.com. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  7. ^ Sallay, Alvin (2013-07-21). "Schools do not make it easy for promising athletes, warns Hannah Wilson". South China Morning Post.