Ben Wilden (born 24 April 1985 in

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing; ) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city is called ''Pomberuk'' b ...

) is an Australian

trampoline gymnast Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic Games, Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle posit ...

. He is a former national champion in trampoline sports and represented Australia at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing as the country's sole representative in trampolining.Aussie trampolinist Ben Wilden misses Olympic final
,

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

Personal life

Wilden completed his schooling at Murray Bridge High School and Hamilton Secondary College in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. He first started trampolining in his backyard 1994, and only a year later competed at the National Championships in trampoline sports, finishing with second place.Australian Olympic Committee: Ben Wilden
Retrieved 2011-11-24.

Competition

Wilden has won a number of junior and senior titles in trampoline and has competed at both an Australian national and international level.

Youth Olympic Festivals

In 2001, Wilden competed at the inaugural

Australian Youth Olympic Festival The Australian Youth Olympics Festival (AYOF) is an international multi-sport event organised by the Australian Olympic Committee for athletes from 13 to 19 years of age. The first event was held in 2001. Editions # 2001 Australian Youth Olympi ...

, receiving silver in the synchronised trampoline event. He followed this achievement by winning gold in the same event at the Australian Youth Olympics in 2003. Wilden openly credits this as one of the highlights of his trampolining career because he hyperextended his knee the week prior to the competition, but was still successful in his pursuit for gold.

2008 Beijing Olympics

In 2007, Wilden was selected as a wildcard to represent Australia in the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

as the country's sole representative in trampolining. His Games entry was gained on the back of his performance at the previous years' World Trampoline Championships in Stuttgart, Germany in which Wilden was the highest-placed Oceania performer of the Championships.Aussie Trampolinist Ben Wilden misses Olympic final
Adelaidenow.com. Retrieved 2011-11-25. Wilden narrowly missed the Olympic final, receiving total score of 67.10 to finish 13th overall.

References

External links

Ben Wilden 2007 Australian Champion – AcrobaticSports.com

08 Trampoline
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilden, Ben Australian male trampolinists 1985 births Living people Sportsmen from South Australia Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Australia Medalists at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships Competitors at the 2009 World Games 21st-century Australian sportsmen