‘I struggled in Great Britain being a black girl’
Youth Olympian could be headed to Pan Am Champs after claiming senior title
Published:Sunday | February 12, 2023 | 1:45 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
BRITISH-BORN JAMAICAN gymnast, Tyesha Mattis, gave herself a fantastic chance of making the team to the Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Colombia later this year after winning the senior title in the ongoing Supreme Ventures-sponsored Gymnastics Classic and National Trials.
The 23-year-old Mattis was in superb form, claiming the top spot in each of her four participating categories - bar, beam, vault and floor.
Mattis, who could be representing the country for the second time, was in awe of her performance on the day.
“I’m absolutely in shock as I didn’t expect to do this well. I’m very proud of myself and all the hard work has paid off and the dedication with all the days in and out of the gym. I’m very grateful to have my mom, who has supported me throughout this whole journey, and I’m blessed to have all my family back home, who have helped me come on this trip today,” said Mattis.
Mattis, who received scores of 12.40 in the bars, 12.60 in the beam, 12.20 in the vault and 11.50 in the floor on her way to an overall total of 48.70, felt that the bars, her favourite, was also the hardest on the day.
“My hardest apparatus would be the bar routine, but I just made sure that I stayed focused and did what my body knows to do, as bars is also my favourite. Hopefully, I will now be able to higher my stock value on all four of my apparatus and eventually I want to be winning international medals,” she added.
Mattis, who won two youth Olympic gold medals at the 2013 Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia while representing Great Britain, made the switch to represent Jamaica in 2022.
UNFAIR TREATMENT
She revealed that that decision was made because she didn’t feel she was being treated fairly.
“I feel like I have the right to as it is an opportunity for me because I struggled in Great Britain being a black girl as they always held me back. They never saw my worth and my mom said that I would be appreciated more if I came to my home country and represent them, so why not?” she said.
The senior winner said the most difficult thing about the trial was to cope with the weather.
“It was very difficult as it was really hot and I’m not really used to the weather. It was very unusual for me. I kept going to the door, take in deep breaths and meditate and then I was fine.”