Stuart Benson
{{short description|British bobsledder}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Stuart Benson MBE
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1981|02|12}}
| birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland
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| years_active = 2011–2014
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| height = {{height|m=1.95}}
| weight = {{convert|103|kg|lb st|abbr=on}}
| spouse = Sarah Benson
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| website = {{URL|http://www.stubenson.com}}
| country = Great Britain
| sport = File:Bobsleigh pictogram.svg Bobsleigh
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| event = Four-Man bobsleigh
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| club = GB Bobsleigh, Bath
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| coach = Dominik Scherrer
Peter Gunn
Michael Khmel
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{{MedalSport|Men's Bobsleigh}}
{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalBronze|2014 Sochi|Four man}}
}}
Stuart Benson MBE (born 12 February 1981) is a former bobsledder who competed for Team GB, and an avionics technician in the Royal Air Force. His competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the four-man bobsleigh, competing with John James Jackson, Bruce Tasker, and Joel Fearon, where they finished fifth. With the disqualification of both Russian bobsleigh teams who finished ahead of them, they officially finished third.{{Cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15782673.Exclusive_Interview_-_retired_Scottish_bobsleigh_star_Stuart_Benson_on_his_battle_to_get_his_bronze_medal/|title=Exclusive Interview - retired Scottish bobsleigh star Stuart Benson on his battle to get his bronze medal|website=HeraldScotland|date=20 December 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-07-13}}
Biography
Benson was born 12 February 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland.{{cite web | url=http://www.teamgb.com/athletes/stuart-benson | title=Stuart Benson | work=Team GB | access-date=18 February 2014}} He grew up in Troon.{{cite web | url=http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/02/05/cosford-airman-aiming-for-gold-in-bobsleigh/ | title=Cosford airman aiming for gold in bobsleigh | work=The Shropshire Star | date=5 February 2014 | access-date=20 February 2014}}
Benson is in the Royal Air Force, working as an avionics technician since the age of 20. He currently holds the rank of Chief Technician.{{cite web | url=http://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/2014/02/17/stuart-benson-aims-for-flying-start-at-sochi/ | title=Stuart Benson aims for flying start at Sochi | work=The Shropshire Star | date=17 February 2014 | access-date=18 February 2014}} Whilst in the RAF, Benson competed with the RAF Athletics Team in the long jump and triple jump. Benson moved into sprinting, running in the fastest Scottish relay team for 16 years; and competing in the Crystal Palace Diamond League. However, the relay was not fast enough to qualify for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. This led him to try out at a bobsleigh "talent identification" event in 2011, where he was discovered in bobsleigh. This led to his becoming part of the GBR1 bobsleigh team; at the end of summer 2011 he was selected into the four-man GBR1 team.
In 2011 Benson won the Royal Air Force Sportsman of the Year, mainly for his track sport achievements.{{cite web | url=http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-stuart-benson | title=Stuart Benson | website=Sochi2014.com | publisher=Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi | access-date=18 February 2014 | archive-date=20 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220102354/http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-stuart-benson | url-status=dead }}
Benson is married to Sarah Benson, who is a long-distance runner.{{cite web | url=http://www.stubenson.com/athlete-bio/4576769138 | publisher=Stuart Benson | title=GB Bobsleigh Team Jackson | access-date=18 February 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227145606/http://www.stubenson.com/athlete-bio/4576769138 | archive-date=27 February 2014 | df=dmy-all }}
In 2013 the four-man bobsleigh team won a silver medal at the European Championships.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25901428 | title=GB bobsleigh quartet warm up for Sochi 2014 with silver medal | work=BBC | date=26 January 2014 | access-date=18 February 2014 | author=Hope, Nick}}
= Olympics =
Benson's debut Olympics is set to be the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and he was given special dispensation for time off from the RAF to attend. Competition there for the four-man bobsleigh event began on 22 February 2014. The British Olympic Association had qualified the GBR1 four-man bobsleigh team as on the "podium programme", i.e. that they have a chance of winning a medal.{{cite web | url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scottish-athlete-who-never-seen-1915166 | title=Scottish athlete, who had never seen a bobsleigh until 18 months ago, is now tipped for Winter Olympic glory | work=The Daily Record | date=27 May 2013 | access-date=18 February 2014}} Benson competed with John James Jackson, Bruce Tasker, and Joel Fearon; of whom only Jackson was experienced; Tasker, Fearon and Benson were all comparatively new to the sport. The team finished fifth in the event, 0.11 seconds away from a medal. However, two teams that finished ahead of GBR1 were later disqualified as part of the Oswald Commission investigation. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the ruling in February 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/02/01/russia-olympic-doping-bans-lifted/|title=28 Russians have Olympic doping bans lifted|date=2018-02-01|work=OlympicTalk|access-date=2018-07-13|language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Stuart}}
Category:Olympic bobsledders for Great Britain
Category:Sportspeople from Glasgow
Category:Scottish male bobsledders
Category:Royal Air Force airmen
Category:Bobsledders at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Category:Olympic medalists in bobsleigh