Fuelled by passion!
Securing an Olympic Games qualification would be a dream come true for Jamaica’s English-born gymnast Tyesha Mattis. But it comes at a price.
On top of her extraordinary talent, dedication and hard work, it costs money to reach the top, a fact that Mattis is well aware of. She qualified for and had to forgo the World Championships — an Olympic qualifying event — last year due to financial constraints.
Simply put, the sweet Olympic dream is made of financial accessibility and the 23-year-old doesn’t have that luxury.
Still, she yearns for competition, and much like a hellish fire, her passion and desire to achieve greatness burns fiercely.
As such, Mattis, who along with her sister China, earn their Jamaican stripes through mother Charmaine Clarke, is forced to work a part-time job in north London to assist in offsetting training expenses, travel and other costs.
“I actually have help from the Government back home, so they assist with like my rent, lunch and also to help me with my travelling to and from training. I do work three days a week teaching gymnastic classes to young aspiring talents, but it’s not enough to cover my gymnastics equipment and travelling abroad for competition. My mom tries but she has been struggling on her own,” Mattis told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.
“So right now I have to sacrifice working and training because I can’t do both at the same time, so I have to work less in order to train more. If I didn’t have gymnastics, I could work full time so I could cover my own rent and I wouldn’t have to ask for the Government’s help. But you know I have to pursue my dreams and so I am just trying my best to represent Jamaica to the fullest and on the biggest stage possible,” she added.
Though Mattis’s hardship isn’t unique, as many athletes look for ways to make ends meet while training, it is the grace and faith that she exudes as she represents the country with much gusto that stands out.
Since switching allegiance last year, Mattis, who produced a telling performance at the Pan American Gymnastic Championships in Brazil, nurtured a big aim to take part in the Olympics. Despite the financial hurdles, she is unflinching in her desire and remains resolute in her press to bring her dream to fruition.
“So far it has been really exciting, the PanAm Championships was like a really big opener for me, I really didn’t expect to even get as far as I did, and so qualifying for the World Championships was a shock. But it is all glory to God, the performance opened my eyes to how much more I can achieve with better routines because I was pretty much doing basic routines,” Mattis shared.
She is among five athletes selected to represent the island at the PanAm championships in May from where she will again have the opportunity to qualify for the World Championships which serves as an Olympic qualifier.
Mattis could also be in line to parade her skills at the CAC Games and Pan American Games also later this year.
While those events fall under the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) banner, the financial burden of the PanAm Championships and possible World Championships appearance fall on individual athletes and at times, the Jamaica Gymnastic Association (JAGA).
“I’m just looking forward to the next event so I can do even better, but more importantly, I am just trusting the process where the finances are concerned and giving the glory to God for bringing me this far,” Mattis said.
She continued: “Getting to the Olympic Games is my ultimate dream, so I’m signed up at the gym as a means to help me get some extra work in with the focus being on conditioning and fitness because as I explained earlier, I don’t get to train as much as I would like because I have to work.
“So, I just want to go out there and do my absolute best on the four apparatuses, but I need to do it slowly and smartly and then build from there. I just want to be able to jump high and flip better to make my start values higher and give myself a good chance of medalling. So I’m going to keep working hard to make it possible.
Many would not understand the reason behind Mattis’s faith and mental toughness, but it stems from the fact that she has returned a better, faster and stronger gymnast after a series of injuries derailed her budding career and forced her to step away from the sport in 2018.
Prior to that, Mattis won the British championship six times. She is also a two-time English champion, youth Olympic champion and European Youth Olympic medallist.
“It was a very traumatic time for me because at first I messed up my ankle really badly and missed out on the 2016 Olympics where I had a spot on the GB [Great Britain] team. After I had the ankle reconstructed through surgery, I came back too quick so the following year, I ended up tearing the tendon on the same side and I had to do two more surgeries and after recovering I tried to get myself back out there to push myself and again I tore the ligaments,” she explained.
“But with that injury, I couldn’t have another surgery done so soon, so I had to make the decision to heal naturally and slowly and I came back in 2017, but decided to pack my bags because it was really hard for me not being able to be at my best.
“It took me a long time mentally and physically to deal with that and then my mom introduced us to the Jamaican team and I just thought why not, I got nothing to lose and I wanted to try to achieve my Olympic dream before I got old,” Mattis reasoned.
Should she make the cut for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Mattis would join Toni-Ann Williams and the recently retired British-born Danusia Francis to achieve the feat.
“These ladies are legends in Jamaica’s Gymnastics and I want to be a part of that legacy and make every Jamaican proud whether you are a gymnastic fan or not,” Mattis declared as her eyes lit up with delight.
“I also want to be a role model for the younger ones so they know that anything is possible once you put the effort it in. My Mom is my biggest fan and if she wasn’t here slugging it out, I probably wouldn’t have even done the [National] trials. Luckily, my whole family came together to make it possible, it’s a shame my sister didn’t make it because she is injured, but without my mom I don’t know where I would be,” the usually bubbly personality said, as she slipped into a sombre stare.
Meanwhile, it is said that behind every Olympian is a financial sacrifice, as it can cost a lucrative sum to raise an athlete, let alone an Olympian, yet many parents like Clarke, make the sacrifices to do it.
For her, the intention was never to see her kids give up on their dreams, much like she did due to racial abuse among other things, and even now with the financial difficulties, she refuses to see them hurt or disappointed.
“I try to make my kids resilient especially in this gymnastics industry. I was a gymnast once in England and I went through hell with the racism and the pushing aside and it was basically the same thing with the girls.
“Britain wasn’t taking care of them, so I decided to take them to my home country. The way I look at it, they are supposed to get more appreciation than what Britain gave them,” Clarke said in explaining the reason for their switching allegiance.
“Financially it has been tough, every time something comes up; it’s me, my mom and my family. That’s where I get the money from, but I know it can’t continue because everybody has their own commitment. So I continue to do what I have to do to get them where they need to be but it would be good if we could get some help,” Clarke ended.