Christian Tio will have six years to prepare for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.”‹
By then, kiteboarding will among the new sports disciplines that will be considered an Olympic sport.
And he will have plenty of time improve on his craft.
“I will have a very long time to prepare for this,” said the 17-year-old Tio, a week after bagging the Philippines’ first silver medal at the recent 2018 Youth Olympic Games,
Kiteboarding makes its Summer Olympic debut as a regular sport in Marseille, Paris in 2024 after being approved as one of the 10 sailing events on the program. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, kiteboarding is considered a demonstration sport.
This decision followed lengthy discussions at a Mid-Year Meeting of World Sailing at Stamford Bridge Football Stadium in London.
Male and female windsurfing and mixed one and two-person dinghy events were also approved to join the five classes already proposed.
The exact equipment and format will not be confirmed until later this year.
The equipment and format will be officially confirmed in November at the World Sailing Annual General Meeting.
The other five events will remain the men’s laser and 49er, the women’s laser radial and 49erFX and the mixed two-person Nacra 17 multihull class.
For now, Tio, a Fil-Norwegian, will just enjoy the moment and take a rest before he goes into competition again in 2019.
“We’ll see what events are coming,” said Tio, who recently hooked up with officials of Red Bull Energy Drink, which is among his main sponsors.
For the last two years, Red Bull has partnered with Tio, helping him in his development in many ways.
Tio settled for a silver medal in the men’s kiteboarding twin tip racing with Toni Vodisek of Slovenia in the Youth Olympic Games, while Deury Corniel of Dominican Republic won the gold.
Officials of the Philippine Sports Commission, led Commissioners Celia Kiram and Arnold Agustin, congratulated Tio for giving the country its first medal in YOG, ever since the Philippines started participating in the 2010.
By virtue of R.A. 10699, Tio is set to receive P2.5 million in cash incentives, with his coach receiving the equivalent of 50 percent of his take.
Tio will join the medallists of the 2018 Asian Paragames when they receive their incentives at the Malacañang Palace next month.