Dream chaser!
Tyesha Mattis has her sights set on accomplishing a goal that, if successful, would see her joining an elite group of athletes on the world stage. That goal is to be an Olympic gymnast.
While it will take some doing, Mattis knows it is by no means impossible. In fact, the Britishborn gymnast — who along with her sister China switched allegiance to Jamaica a few months ago — took a giant step towards achieving it when she earned a coveted spot to the World Gymnastics Championship, which serves as an Olympic qualifier.
This after her standout performance at the Pan American Gymnastic Championships in Brazil where she proudly displayed her mental toughness, coupled with the fact that she has returned from a series of injuries as a better, faster and stronger gymnast.
Mattis was the first of 11 allaround gymnasts to qualify for the World Championships scheduled for October 29 to November 6 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
“This [World Championships] will be the biggest competition of my life and it means the world to me that my dreams are finally coming true. And this also means I am finally ticking things off my bucket list — and I feel like I’m on the right road to success,” she told the Jamaica Observer from her base in London.
“For every athlete, representing their country at the Games is the ultimate goal, and I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t something I wanted. The Olympics was, and is, the pinnacle of achievement and I want to be at the place where so few is able to go,” added Mattis who is also down to represent Jamaica at next year’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC)
Games.
Though her performances to date identify her as one of Jamaica’s best young gymnasts, Mattis, 23, knows she still has a ways to go and needs to continue improving to bring her Olympic dream to fruition.
“You always want to get better, and I honestly believe there isn’t really anywhere to stop in terms of areas you can improve on. So, after Brazil I took a couple weeks off for my body to rest and recuperate for my build-up for Worlds, and I’m now training some old skills I used to have in my routine, hoping to up my start value a little,” she explained.
Having enjoyed success as a six-time British champion, two-time English champion, Australian youth Olympic champion and European Youth Olympic medallist – before injuries derailed her budding career and forced her to step away from the sport in 2018 — Mattis has shown that she is willing to put in the hours of gruelling work it takes to be an
Olympic athlete.
“So while I am not putting loads of pressure on myself, I am doing what I have to [so as] to give myself the best possible chance and take things day by day. Not everyday is going to be the best but getting through those hard days make the good days even easier,” she reasoned.
“They say if you don’t want it in practice, you will never get it in competition — so it will definitely feel easier when I put my hand up to compete because I have done it and believe in myself, so it makes me feel much more confident,” Mattis opined.
And with such confidence Mattis seems well and truly on the path to Paris 2024 when she would become the island’s third gymnast to compete at the Olympics after Toni-ann Williams and the recently retired Danusia Francis — barring injury.
“I’m very optimistic and confident that I’ve got a great chance at going to the Olympics for Jamaica. This will has been a big part of the dreams and goals I’ve had my whole life as a gymnast,” the cheerful Mattis declared.
“I have always wanted to compete at the World Championships and become an Olympian, and I now have an opportunity to do both so I’m just going to keep working hard and trying my best. And no matter what happens, I am always going to feel blessed to represent Jamaica,” she declared.