Backyard to Beijing The Story of Australian Champion, Ben Wilden
So where do you start on the long journey to becoming an Olympic Athlete and Australian Champion? In the case of 22 year old Ben Wilden, Australia’s number one male trampoliner and Olympian, it was in the backyard, on his parents’ trampoline. Ben’s journey has been one of hard fought tenacity, of never giving up on a dream, of never letting go of ideals. It has taken him all over the globe, training in state-of-the-art facilities with world class coaches, to World Championships and all the way to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
It all started at home, in a South Australian backyard with Mum and Dad: “I was a privileged child always having a full size tramp in the backyard. And I’m pretty sure Mum had a hard time getting me off it after school to have dinner! Dad would help teach me some safety on the tramp whilst also teaching my brother Simon and I some pretty cool tricks.”
After learning all he could from his Father, Ben decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands, teaching himself the most skills that he could. It was around this time that Ben’s family was invited to an activity day at Blackwood Recreational Centre, about an hour away from their home in Murray Bridge. By chance, or by fate, Ben’s Mother noticed a flyer on the wall advertising the Blackwood Trampoline Club. His Dad knew the coach there and asked if he would like to give it a go. And the rest, as they say, is history.
After only one week in the beginners class at the club, Ben progressed into intermediate and then advanced and was soon competing in (and winning!) State and National Championships. Soon after, he was holding his own in age competitions internationally. 2002 saw Ben’s big break when Australian national trampolining coach Nikolay Zhuravlev invited him into the national team to compete in the World Cup competition in North America. As Ben says, “This was my big break and time to show the world I was number one!”
Despite his youthful optimism, Ben’s hopes of a world number one spot were dashed by several unforeseen circumstances in training that led to a poor performance, but he learnt some important lessons in his first major competition, “I learnt that being number one is not only about competition but the preparation before as well. Since then I have competed in numerous international events. I have learnt how to pack a suitcase in 10 minutes… To always be ready for anything!”
Through sheer courage and hard work Ben went into 2007 on form, supported by his part-time job at Cole Crash City and his night work at the Elysium Lounge in Adelaide. He fundraised partially through selling the ‘Beijing Dream’, a cocktail of his own creation of which $5.00 was donated to his vision of going to the Olympics in 2008. Ben took part in seven international competitions in 2007, culminating in a Gold Medal at the World Cup in Zielona Gora, Poland for men’s synchronised trampolining.
2008. Countdown to the Beijing Olympics. As Australian and Oceanian champion, Ben was in Canada for the World Championships knowing that a good performance would put him into the Olympics in September. A fantastic routine. Australia 13th best in the world. And Ben? Well, Ben had just qualified for the Olympics, a dream fulfilled through long hours of training and strong support from his family, “Done.. decided... no more trials. I was going to Beijing!”
The Olympics have now been and gone and despite narrowly missing out on a finals place, Ben has ascended the heights of Australian Trampolining to grace the number one spot again this year. While making the sport look incredibly easy, his success has been hard won. He has come a long way from the 1994 South Australian Novice Championships when he and Mum notched up nearly 1000km a week of car trips to get to training.
“I have sacrificed a lot to get this far but its all been worth it; although none of it would be possible without Mum and Dad picking up the tab for numerous bills and expenses when my minimal wage can’t cover it. I know how hard they have worked for me to get this far and I will be forever thankful.”
One again, it comes down to the sacrifice of Ben and his parents to achieve the dream of a champion, a dream which began when bouncing on a trampoline in the backyard.
