By Neto Baptiste
Antigua and Barbuda’s professional kite-boarder, Tiger Tyson, is the new champion in both the senior and under-19 divisions of the Caribbean Foiling Championships held in St Martin over the weekend.
Tyson out-surfed 38 other competitors across eight races to win gold in both the senior and under-19 categories.
The 17-year-old Antiguan also recorded the fastest completion time of the two-lap kite-foiling course of six minutes. His top speed was 51 kilometers (28 knots), confidently putting him as a rising star in the Caribbean kite-foiling world.
During a festive prize giving ceremony, the crowd cheered to Tyson who came in the first place; Olivier Blottière from Martinique, second; and Loic Brismontier from Guadeloupe in third place.
Tyson also had a number of good results going into the recent Caribbean championships after having won the Under-19 North American and Caribbean Championships in San Francisco and the French Nationals last year. He also placed sixth in last year’s Pan Am Games held in Peru.