Wilson misses out on rowing medal (From Daily Echo)

Wilson misses out on rowing medal

12:39pm Wednesday 1st August 2012 in Sport

Southampton -born Melanie Wilson failed to medal in the women’s Olympic rowing quads at Eton Dorney Lake.

Along with Debbie Flood, Beth Rodford and Frances Houghton, Wilson finished sixth and last in the final with Ukraine, Germany and USA occupying the medal positions.

Wilson and co had previously floundered in their heat and finished last.

That meant they were forced to compete in Monday’s repechage, where only a place in the top four would see them through to the final.

And Wilson, who has won two World Cup bronze medals this season, was staring down the barrel of an early exit when GB found themselves in the last two places in the repechage race.

Fortune favoured the Brits as, while they were coming back strongly in the second half of the race, a costly error from the New Zealand quartet handed the Brits the chance to romp back into the top four, eventually finishing third.

Though born in Southampton, Wilson grew up in Hong Kong.

She moved back to the UK so that she could go to University in Nottingham, where she studied for a BSc in Biochemistry. After University she worked in a research laboratory in Kenya before moving to London.