US-born kitefoiler JJ Rice dies at the age of 18 in a diving accident just weeks before his Olympic debut

US-born kitefoiler JJ Rice, who represented Tonga at the Olympic Games in Parisdied in a diving accident. He was 18.

Rice’s father Darren Rice confirmed his son’s death to the Matangi Tonga newspaper on Monday.

Jackson James Rice could have been the first Caucasian to represent Tonga at the Olympic Games. His death occurred on Saturday in Faleloa on the island of Ha’apai in the Tonga archipelago.

He was freediving from a boat when he suffered what is believed to be a blackout in shallow water, Matangi Tonga reported. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

“I was blessed with the greatest brother in the world and it pains me to say he has passed away,” Rice’s sister Lily said in a Facebook post. “He was an amazing kitefoiler and would have made it to the Olympics and won a big shiny medal. He made so many great friends all over the world.”

Rice recently returned to Tonga after competing in the 2024 Formula Dragon World Championship in France, Matangi Tonga reported.

Rice was born in the United States to British parents but grew up on Ha’apai, where his parents run a tourist hostel. “I’ve lived in Tonga all my life, I consider myself a Tongan,” he told Matangi Tonga last month. “I don’t see myself as anything else.”

Rice frequently posted videos of his training in Tonga on his Instagram account.

In an Instagram post last month, Rice said he wanted to “say a huge thank you to everyone who supported me, mentored me, gave me a couch to sleep on, and pushed me to my absolute limits.”

“First of all, I would like to thank my mom and dad, without you nothing would be possible,” he wrote.

Rice secured his Olympic spot by finishing eighth at the Sail Sydney event in December. Kitefoiling will be an Olympic discipline for the first time in Paris.

Rice had recently trained and competed in Europe.

Kitefoilers race on boards that are lifted out of the water using airfoils and can reach speeds of over 30 miles per hour.