Sports
Filipino-Norwegian athlete wins PH’s 1st Youth Olympic Games medal
Kiteboarder Christian Tio won the first medal for the country in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games that happened at Club Nautica San Isidro in Buenos Aires, Argentina last Sunday, October 14. (Photo: International Olympic Committee)
Kiteboarder Christian Tio won the first medal for the country in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games that happened at Club Nautica San Isidro in Buenos Aires, Argentina last Sunday, October 14.
Tio, who grew up in Boracay, initially thought that his last run would be cancelled due to the weather conditions on the day of competition. If that had happened, he would have settled for fourth place. But, overall, he didn’t mind the placing and said his “mindset was just to go for it and enjoy.”
After the race, he stated, “I’m speechless. I’m just really happy, I don’t know how to celebrate yet,” adding a thank you to “everyone who supported him and gave him all the love.”
A lot of preparation went into Christian’s participation in the Youth Olympic Games. After passing the Asian Qualifiers in March, he spent four weeks in the Dominican Republic and four weeks in Buenos Aires to train. This, he said, reduced his jetlag and allowed him to be “fully rested” for the competition.
Christian’s parents Chris Mohn and Liezl Tio are professional kiteboarders, which encouraged him to work to spread the value of the sport in the Philippines.
He told BusinessWorld, “We have a lot of nice beaches and a lot of wind, there is a lot of potential for the sport, we just need more riders,” adding, “The kiteboarding scene [in the Philippines] is still quite small but it’s quickly growing.”
The 16-year old placed second on the podium for men’s kiteboarding alongside Toni Vodisek from Slovenia. First place for the event was obtained by Dominican Republic’s Deury Corniel. Christian shared, “It’s been a tough week. We really had light winds and I’m really happy to get the silver. I thought it was bronze or something, but when I checked, we were both silver.”
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will end on October 19.
