By Neto Baptiste

Antigua and Barbuda kitesurf athlete Tiger tyson continued his fine form on the international circuit with a top 12 at the Kite-foil World Series Open held in Cagliari, Italy this weekend.

Tyson was 11th overall out of 44 individual competitors after amassing a total of 235.0 points in 17 races at the international event. However, in the country column, Antigua and Barbuda finished seventh overall, as scores from countries with multiple participants are counted towards a final country.

Tyson, speaking to Observer’s Italian media, said the championship gives him the opportunity to compete with a number of the best athletes from around the world ahead of this week’s Formula Kite World Championships, also scheduled for Cagliari. .

“There were a lot of good runners, probably most of the best runners in the world were probably here, so it was really nice to go up against these guys. We did 17 races over four days and had some really great races and had some of my best results in this competition actually. I was racing up there with the top 10 guys and had consistent runs in front of guys that I had never beaten before, ”he said.

“Even the best guys, they noticed it and they told me I’m pretty quick this week and it was really cool and today [Sunday] on the last day, I managed to get a second place in the last race which I was really happy with, ”he added.

The Antiguan also said conditions constantly changed over the four days of competition, which also allowed him to use a number of different kites.

“The week consisted of all kinds of wind conditions so we used all of our different sizes of kites and it was really good practice just to know that all of our gear is working and to get back into the race because that can be pretty easy if you run big kites all the time in a light wind and then all of a sudden you have a day of racing at 30-40 knots and it’s a whole different game, ”he said. Tyson said.

After competing in Italy for the past few months, Tyson’s confidence is high as the World Kite Championships approach from Tuesday.

“I’ve competed there before so I know what the place is like so I’m not too worried about that but maybe I’ll just go out to stay in the kite vibe I guess “, did he declare.

At the end of August, Tyson won a bronze medal at the French national kite foil championships. He then participated in the European Championship in Poland where he finished 23rd out of 150 competitors.