Tiger Tyson in action during the French Championships. 
By Neto Baptiste
Antigua and Barbuda’s kite-boarder Tiger Tyson continues to make waves on the international circuit after battling to a bronze medal finish in the French National Kite Foiling Championships.
Competing in the senior men’s category, Tyson amassed a total of 74 points as he finished behind of French kite-boarders Maxime Nocher and Benoit Gomez who were first and second respectively. A total of 30 athletes competed in the senior men’s division.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show from France, Tyson said he anticipated the competition would have been tough, but said his confidence grew following the opening day.
“Going into the competition I wasn’t too confident I was going to get onto the podium but after the first day I definitely saw that it was possible so I fought for it and I was a bit surprised. The conditions were really unstable because on the first day we had really light winds so we couldn’t do as much racing as we wanted to do because with winds like that we could hardly keep the kites in the air,” he said.
“On the second and third day, it was blowing like 30 knots and on the last day it was gusting over 30 knots so it was pretty crazy racing and pretty dangerous as well,” he added.
The Antiguan, who will now turn his attention to the European Championships slated for September 6, said his success did not sit particularly well with his French competitors.
“I was obviously the only Antiguan competitor and non-French competitor there as well so when I got there they didn’t really want me to go up on the podium because they wanted to show off their French riders, so I think I made them realize that I am coming for them,” he said.
The 19-year-old athlete revealed also that he will remain in France for some time as he has enrolled in school where he will be mastering in business.
“I am not sure yet but I am going to be here for a while because I am actually starting university in the south of France and it’s in a really good place for training so I am planning on moving here for a while and competing all throughout Europe. In December, probably I will come back home to Antigua because there is also the Caribbean championships at the same time in December,” Tyson said.
Tyson said his is aim is to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in France.