Q&A with YOG silver medalist Christian Tio
HAD a successful showing in the recently held 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he won silver in kiteboarding, Boracay-based Christian Tio said it was an experience that was memorable in so many ways and very gratifying.
Red Bull athlete Tio, 17, sat down with BusinessWorld on Tuesday, Oct. 23, for a one-on-one interview where he shared his experience in the YOG, aspirations for the sport of kiteboarding, thoughts on the rehabilitation of Boracay island, and possible inclusion of kiteboarding in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games which the country is hosting, among other things.
BusinessWorld (BW): Can you talk about your Youth Olympic Games journey which turned out to be a successful one with a silver medal to show for?
Christian Tio (CT): My road to the Youth Olympics was tough. It started in the Asian Qualifiers in Thailand in March where the competition was tight but we eventually got it. Then I came back here for training but that was the time the government closed Boracay so I had to find other places to train in. It was pretty hard. I also competed in Italy as well as trained there. And then I went to the Dominican Republic a couple of weeks before the Games in Argentina.
Having gone through all that, it felt really good to win a medal. It was like a dream. I’m very proud to bring home a medal for the Philippines.
BW: On the final race of the men’s kiteboarding IKA Twin Tip Racing organizers decided to hold it off for a while because of the
weather, what was going through your mind when it happened, especially since at the time you were only at fourth place?
CT: I wasn’t trying to stress myself, because at that time that’s the worst thing to do. I just told myself to just enjoy the competition. I guess it (lull) helped a bit because I was tired competing in the previous days. It gave me time to relax and regain some energy.
BW: Were you surprised to win a medal considering you were up against top young kiteboarders from different parts of the world?
CT: Not really. We were expecting a podium finish. I believe we trained well for the Games. The other competitors were tough but we managed to get to the top.
BW: Following your successful YOG participation, what do you want to happen for the sport here in the country?
CT: I hope my performance in the Games inspires more people to take up kiteboarding to make the sport bigger because right now it’s still a small community here. It’s a sport that is not hard to do. Practically everyone can do it. It’s a safe and very fun sport.
BW: Later this week Boracay will reopen after being closed for six months for rehabilitation, what are your thoughts on that?
CT: I think it’s good they chose to close it for a while to clean it up and set things right. Personally it was hard for me because I was not able to train there for the Youth Olympics but overall it was good
for the island. I’m excited to go back and see it for myself. I was away for three months.
BW: What are your plans moving forward?
CT: Right now I’m just going to rest and at the end of the year see what big competitions are coming up and I can compete in. But for this year the Youth Olympic Games was the biggest event.
BW: Next year the PHL will be hosting the Southeast Asian Games, are you hoping to have kiteboarding included in the list of sports to be participated in?
CT: Hopefully kiteboarding gets included in the Southeast Asian Games. It’s something I’m looking forward to if ever, and I like our chances in it.