Abbey Wilson and William Martin's speedy recipe for Australia's first Gangwon 2024 medal: Ferraris, kangaroos and neon shirts
On snow since they were one and two years old, these Australian teens quickly bonded over their love of speed to start the medals count for their country – with a few lucky charms in tow.
Snowboard
Whether racing down slopes at the age of one or donning a Ferrari t-shirt the night before a race, ‘speed’ is a word that has a special aura in Abbey Wilson and William Martin’s world.
The Australian snowboard cross athletes did not know they would pair up for the mixed team event until the night before their race at Gangwon 2024. Despite this last-minute match up, they had no issue quickly finding common ground as they raced to win Australia’s first medal of the Games.
“I always wanted to be the fastest guy on the hill and the first one down, and then I started seeing these results at these races, and it kind of kept pushing me to do more and more and more. Like, how can I get better? How can I keep winning? How do I do this? How do I do that?” Martin told Olympics.com.
“I've always loved speed,” his teammate Wilson echoed. “When I grew up, my coaches wanted to get me more into freestyle and getting into the park and things. And I would pretty much want to go to the racecourse constantly.”
From Ferrari memorabilia to lucky socks and inflatable kangaroos, Olympics.com spoke to the Australian medallists about the things that keep them fast and passionate about racing on snow.
Abbey Wilson and William Martin: From toddlers to Youth Olympic racers
For Martin, the journey of becoming a snowboard racer began when he was one year old. Strapped into tiny skis, he latched onto his parents’ legs as they went down the slopes.
He summed up those early years succinctly: “Definitely a lot of crying and coldness, but still enjoying it.”
Continuing to ski as he got older, the sight of snowboarders swishing past captured Martin’s imagination.
“Growing up skiing, always snowboarding is like the cool thing,” he explained. “I just kept begging mum and dad, 'Please, can I snowboard? Please, can I snowboard?' And then eventually, when I was eight years old, I hopped on a snowboard for the first time and I just loved it, tried doing it as much as I could ever since then.”
At 13, Martin decided to focus on snowboard cross, joined a local race club and has not looked back since.
Wilson also started off as a skier, taking her first runs as a two-year-old, and switched to snowboarding at the same age as Martin.
“I was lucky enough to live in the snow town of Jindabyne, so I had access to all the slopes. And my dad, when I was about eight years old, put me on a snowboard,” Wilson recalled. “It would have been around the time of the 2016 Olympics. I was watching all the summer things and I was like, ‘Wow, you know, it'd be really cool to go to the winter ones’.”
She tried competing in snowboard cross as part of a school team a year later, and fell in love with the discipline.
“It pretty much all started from there,” Wilson said. “I loved the course. I loved the community at the top, and it just evolved from there. And when I got old enough to start racing in four-heats, it just made it even better.”
Abbey Wilson and William Martin won Australia's first medal at Gangwon 2024.
Abbey Wilson and her love for speed and Formula 1
With Wilson’s love for speed, it is not surprising that her other favourite sport is car racing.
She got into the sport by watching a Formula 1 race with her friends and stayed up to date with the latest racing news while at Gangwon 2024 by listening to a Formula 1 podcast.
“I've always looked at Ferraris when they drive past,” she said. “It was kind of a no brainer to go for the team that I really like to look at the cars and really like how they drive.”
While piloting a race car may not be in the near future for the 17-year-old, Wilson manages to channel a Ferrari driver on the slopes in a different way.
“I have that little superstition that the Ferrari shirt will make me go a bit faster on race day, so it's usually my pre-race ritual to wear that,” she said.
Another secret for her fast turns on the snowboard course - lucky socks.
“It's just something that I feel comfortable in,” the Australian rider said. “They make me feel a bit calmer and understand that I've got this. I've done it before, and I can do it again.”
And do any of these socks have the famous horse logo on them?
“Unfortunately, they weren't Ferrari!" Wilson said. “But that might be a new investment for me with some Ferrari socks to hopefully make me go extra fast on course.”
Abbey Wilson raced to snowboard cross mixed team bronze in her "lucky socks".
Gangwon 2024: A warm and bright welcome for William Martin at the finish line
While there were no lucky charms to spur on Martin at Gangwon 2024, there was an inflatable kangaroo and a splash of Australian flags waiting for the Youth Olympic medallist at the finish line.
The rider’s family, including his parents and little sister, lit up the spectator area with their fluorescent t-shirts, the names of Martin and his long-time teammate Cameron Turner splashed across the front.
The bright contingent erupted in cheers when Martin and Wilson secured their bronze at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort.
“There's definitely a lot of tears between all of them,” Martin said. “It means a lot because they see all the hours I put in the gym when I'm not on snow and they can finally see all this stuff I do paying off.”
Wilson’s family was also in the crowd to offer words of congratulations, and a hug.
“They were amazed and they were so happy for both me and Will, that we had put everything we could onto that course,” Wilson said. “We don't normally get that when we're competing overseas, so it's nice to have them here and experience an achievement like that with me.”
William Martin (blue bib) in action during the mixed team semi-final.
Abbey Wilson and William Martin: Speeding into the future
Back home, Wilson trains with Josie Baff, who won the snowboard cross gold at Lausanne 2020 and went on to compete at the Winter Olympics in Beijing two years later.
For the young rider, Baff is an inspiration both in terms of her riding skills and work ethic.
“Getting to follow her [in training], I get to see her lines and her technique, the way that she pumps rollers and comes off jumps and is so stable and locked in, it’s just incredible. I really tried to put that into my riding and it's obviously helped a little bit,” Wilson said.
“It's amazing to be able to go with her to our new gym in Jindabyne and just see how hard she works for everything. It's incredible to be there and alongside her, training with her.”
With Milano Cortina 2026 Games coming up next, Wilson hopes to repeat Baff’s leap from the Youth Olympic to the Olympic stage.
Martin is also dreaming of the Olympic Games – and is keeping his Youth Olympic bronze close at all times as motivation.
“It's been in my pocket right here. Ever since I got it, I haven't left it out of my sight,” he said. “I'll just hang it right above my bed. Right there. Just in case I need it.”