By Neto Baptiste
National kite-boarder and the only Antigua and Barbuda athlete to have already qualified for this year’s Paris Olympics, Tiger Tyson, said his aim going into the July 26 to August 11 Games, is to be amongst the top 10 athletes that will advance to the semifinals round of the event following the first few days of competition.
“At the Olympic Games there will only be 20 of us competing so only the top 20 countries in the world will be there, and when it’s that small, literally anything can happen and so I’ll just have to go into it with my head really straight. I will have to be fully focused and I am going to have to bring my best game on the day. It’s going to come down to who performs best during that week of racing at the Olympics and I believe that I can make it, so that’s obviously the first aim which is to just get into that top 10, and then from there, into the top 10 and then from there, into the semifinals and from there, literally anyone can make it through,” he said.
Tyson, last week, broke his own RORC record by more than 20 minutes after clocking two hours and 14 minutes, shaving 24 minutes off his old record that was set last year.
The athlete said he has a packed schedule leading into the Olympic Games as he aims to be in peak condition for the Paris event.
“At the beginning of the year I went to Europe to do a training camp and there were a lot of people training in the Canary Islands, so I spent some time there to do a winter training block. At the beginning of March, I am heading to Spain where the European championships will be, and then after that I have another competition in Palma [Spain], and then after that I will be in the south of France which is where the Olympics will be. I will be based there for about three to four months just training at the Olympic venue, doing a few competitions and just getting used to all the conditions there,” he said.
Tyson when on to thank those who have supported his endeavours thus far, but said he is still on the hunt for more financial support.
“Obviously, the Antigua and Barbuda Kite-boarding Association is helping me, Admiral Inn’s, the hotel in English Harbour have helped me out a bit, and a company called Pumelo has started giving me a couple of donations which is nice, but I am still on the search. I am about six months out now and I definitely could do with some more support,” he said.
In December last year, Tyson was awarded the Faithful and Meritorious Service Cross for Meritorious Performance in Sports. He was presented with the honour by Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams during a ceremony at Government House.