Jackson James Rice has tragically died in a diving accident aged 18 just weeks before he was set to compete at the Paris Olympics this summer for Tonga.
His father Darren confirmed the unfortunate news to the Matangi Tonga newspaper after his son passed in Faleloa, Tonga, on Saturday from a “suspected shallow water blackout”.
The teenager, known as JJ Rice, had been free-diving when his body was found beneath the boat at 12.15pm, with subsequent resuscitation attempts unsuccessful.
Rice, who had British parents, was born in the US before moving to Tonga and was set to become the first Caucasian to represent the country at an Olympic Games, having qualified for the new kite-foiling event.
His sister Lily penned an emotional tribute to Rice on Facebook, writing: “I was blessed with the most amazing brother in the whole world and it pains me to say that he’s passed away.
“He was an amazing kitefoiler and he would have made it to the Olympics and come out with a big shiny medal … he made so many amazing friends all over the world.”
He finished eighth at the Sail Sydney event in December to earn his Olympic place, where for the first time in the Games’ history, kite-foiling will be an Olympic sport.
Rice had been training and competing in Europe but returned to Ha’apai, considering himself Tongan, having grown up in the country where his parents operate a tourist lodge.
His father Darren remembered how at 15, Rice risked his life to help save a ferryboat carrying 18 people after the vessel had capsized in heavy seas off Faleloa in 2021.
Tongan athlete and Rio 2016 flagbearer Pita Taufatofua has been among the many to pay tribute to Rice, having first met the promising athlete lying under a van, covered in engine oil, lending a helping hand with very few mechanics on the island.
“In between helping at the resort, he would do what he loved – kite surfing – out in the oceans of Ha’apai,” Taufatofua wrote on Facebook. “Being self-taught as a kid, he reached a level where he would compete at the recent Olympic-qualifiers on his quest to one day represent Tonga at the Olympic Games.
“He had a great respect for the sea and for all the people in our little motu [island]. JJ left this world doing exactly what he loved, in a place he loved – the ocean.”
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