By Neto Baptiste
Kite-boarderTiger Tyson said the level of financial support he receives going forward will weigh heavily on his decision to pursue qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games scheduled for Los Angeles, USA.
The athlete, who became the first Antiguan to qualify for the Olympics in kite-boarding when he achieved the feat back in November last year, finished 17 overall in his event after more than half of the scheduled races were cancelled due to low or no winds on race days.
“I definitely need some time to process all of this and make a decision on what the future holds and whether I go for LA 2028 or what. I think I will definitely have a little break just because the last six years has been pretty full on nonstop training, travelling and being on the move. At the same time, it’s very costly and to keep this up for another four years would be very difficult without a big sponsor or support,” he said.
Clearly frustrated with how the Games turned out, Tyson said he is still processing what transpired in Marseille, France.
“All my thought and everything haven’t settled yet and it’s been quite hard to let everything sink in so. It was an amazing experience and it’s definitely going to make me grow but at the same time it’s going to hurt. A lot of this is all about the process and you have to enjoy the process, love the process and I’ve definitely done that. I’ve put in as much time as I can, I’ve travelled to many places to put me in a position where I think I would perform at my best and I got myself here for which I am very happy and with the whole experience in Paris,” the athlete said.
Kite-boarding athletes were only able to complete a total of seven of 16 scheduled races at the Paris Olympics with most of the races taking place on the event’s opening day.
Tyson admitted he did not have the best performances on the opening day.
“Unfortunately, we only had one good day of wind and on that day I had a lot of people fouling me, people crashing, and I had to jump to get out of the way and when things like that happen you end up having to wait and let everyone pass and continue in last place. So, with those races I needed the next 13 or 14 races to make a comeback and, unfortunately, we didn’t get the wind for that so it was really frustrating,” he said.
Only the top 10 athletes advanced to the medal rounds. Austrian Valentin Bontus claimed the first gold medal in men’s Olympic kiteboarding with Slovenia’s Toni Vodisek taking silver and Singapore’s Max Maeder winning bronze.
