Ashleigh Nelson (sprinter)

Ashleigh was the first Brit to win a medal in 40 years taking away a bronze medal in the 100 metres and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2014 European Championships. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, she also won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Her personal bests are 11.19 secs (2014) in the 100 m and 22.85 secs (2019) in the 200 m.^[3]

Representing England, she was a gold medalist in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as part of the 4 × 100 metres relay squad.

After missing out on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Nelson made the decision to switch to bobsleigh.^[4] She was approached on social media by Adele Nicoll about taking up bobsleigh, ^[5] with a view to competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Nelson competed alongside Nicoll in the 2-women event at the 2025 IBSF World Championships; it was her third ever bobsleigh event.^[5]

Nelson was selected for the 2-women event at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside Adele Nicoll.^[6]

Nelson was born in Stoke-on-Trent and is a cousin of both reality television contestant Wes Nelson and footballer Curtis Nelson.^[7] She is mixed-race, of Jamaican descent through her paternal grandparents.^[8] Her older brother Alexander was also a sprinter at international level. Both of them were selected to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.^[9]

Ashleigh is an advocate for mental health awareness and is an ambassador for the charity Sane.^[10]