By Neto Baptiste
Antiguan kite-boarder, Tiger Tyson, has added another feat to his growing list of achievements when he because the first to kiteboard between Antigua and Barbuda.
The athlete, last Monday, made the journey from Antigua to Barbuda before completing the trip back home, via the same mode of transportation three days later.
The 18-year-old completed the first part of the journey in one hour and 17 minutes before making the return trip in one hour and 30 minutes.
Speaking with Observer media, Tyson said he is always looking for new challenges and simply figured, why not kite-board to Barbuda and back.
“There has only been one other person who has kited from Antigua to Barbuda, but no one has ever done both ways, and I have wanted to do it for some time now. I thought it was a great challenge, and I wanted to see if it was possible in the first place and I was just happy to attempt it and get it done,” he said.
Tyson described the feat as challenging, added that the journey back home was especially taxing.
“On the way there it was a little bit easier because it was on a downwind run, so it not as much effort, so I was able to just go with the wind a little easier and didn’t have to push my body as much whereas on the way back it was slightly upwind so all my muscles went into coming back up when my body was a bit more twisted, my legs had to work a little bit more on the way back so I was definitely in some pain by the end of it,” he said.
The Antiguan said that although he has missed a number of international competitions due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he continues to stay in shape in hopes of representing the twin-island state in the near future.
“I am always training as much as possible and preparing for whatever is coming next, but as for what is next, I am not 100 percent sure. Unfortunately I’ve missed quite a few events including one in Colombia and a few in Spain which I really wanted to go to, but with the quarantine and all the rest of the Covid restrictions I just haven’t been able to travel or compete, unfortunately,” he said. In August, Tyson finished fifth in the under-19 category of the European Championships held in Poland.