A few weeks before he was scheduled to participate at the Olympics in Paris, 18-year-old diver Jackson James Rice passed away in a horrific accident.
The teenager was set to represent Tonga in the Olympics as the first Caucasian, having qualified for the new kite-foiling sport.
In Faleloa, Tonga, on Saturday, Rice passed away because to a “suspected shallow water blackout.”
He was free diving from a boat when the awful incident occurred.
His corpse was discovered beneath the boat around 12:15 p.m., according to his father Darren, who also told the Matangi Tonga newspaper that attempts to resuscitate him had failed.
Lily, Rice’s sister, posted a heartfelt memorial to her brother on social media on Sunday while he was away.
She also posted on Facebook, saying, “It pains me to say that my best brother in the world passed away.”
He was an outstanding kitefoiler. Had he gone to the Olympics, he would have taken home a large medal. He made a ton of amazing pals all across the world.
Rice resided in Tonga before to going to the US, even though his parents were British.
His parents own a vacation resort in HaŁapai, where he was born and raised. He considered himself to be Tongan.
Last December, the gifted athlete qualified for what was meant to be his first Olympic Games after placing eighth in a Sail Sydney event.
“An extreme sport that combines sailing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, and paragliding,” claims ANOC.
