Ashleigh Nelson (born 20 February 1991) is a former English sprinter[1] who now competes as a bobsledder.[2]
.jpg) Nelson in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British English |
| Born | 20 February 1991 |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) |
| Parent(s) | Stephen Nelson, Angela Nelson |
| Sport | |
| Country | UK |
| Sport | Women's Athletics |
| Event | Sprinting |
Medal record | |
Athletics
editAshleigh was the first Brit to win a medal in 40 years taking away a bronze medal in the 100 metres and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2014 European Championships. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, she also won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Her personal bests are 11.19 secs (2014) in the 100 m and 22.85 secs (2019) in the 200 m.[3]
Representing England, she was a gold medalist in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as part of the 4 × 100 metres relay squad.
Bobsleigh
editAfter missing out on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Nelson made the decision to switch to bobsleigh.[4] She was approached on social media by Adele Nicoll about taking up bobsleigh, [5] with a view to competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Nelson competed alongside Nicoll in the 2-women event at the 2025 IBSF World Championships; it was her third ever bobsleigh event.[5]
Nelson was selected for the 2-women event at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside Adele Nicoll.[6]
Personal
editNelson was born in Stoke-on-Trent and is a cousin of both reality television contestant Wes Nelson and footballer Curtis Nelson.[7] She is mixed-race, of Jamaican descent through her paternal grandparents.[8] Her older brother Alexander was also a sprinter at international level. Both of them were selected to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[9]
Ashleigh is an advocate for mental health awareness and is an ambassador for the charity Sane.[10]
References
edit- ↑ "Ashlee Nelson hopes to run gauntlet of first Olympic Games in Beijing – Olympics". Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ "NELSON SUPER EXCITED AFTER SPORTING SWITCH". British Bobsleigh & Skeleton.
- ↑ "Ashlee Nelson lands World Junior silver". More than the games. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "GB track athlete Ashleigh Nelson switches to bobsleigh". olympics.com.
- 1 2 "Nelson super excited after sporting switch". British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ↑ "Nicoll named first British monobob Olympian". BBC Sport. 22 January 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ↑ "Meet the Plymouth athletes competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland". Plymouth Herald. 20 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ↑ "Black History Month 2023". www.stoke.gov.uk.
- ↑ "NikeWomen Young Guns – Ashlee Nelson". Anglomania-mag.com. 10 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ "Ambassadors, champions and supporters". Sane.
External links
edit- Ashleigh Nelson at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation
- Ashleigh Nelson at the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association
- Ashleigh Nelson at World Athletics
- Ashleigh Nelson at Team GB
- Ashleigh Nelson at Team England
- Ashleigh Nelson at Milano Cortina 2026
- Ashleigh Nelson at Olympedia
- Ashleigh Nelson at InterSportStats
- Ashleigh Nelson on Instagram
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