SANTIAGO, Chile — Artistic gymnast Tyesha Mattis could be Jamaica’s third entrant in the event at the Olympic Games, in Paris next summer.

She could achieve this feat by qualifying here at the Pan American Games when she takes the floor on Sunday. Building on a bronze medal she earned at the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador last summer, Mattis says there isn’t much to do but to trust her process.

“Obviously I’m striving for gold, all the time,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “That’s what I want to do, but I don’t want to rush it. I don’t want to overwork myself. I need to trust the process, listen to my body, and just take it day by day.”

Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association President Nicole Grant has pride in Mattis, who was recruited in 2022, as does the Jamaica Olympic Association. This was one of the reasons she was selected as one of Team Jamaica’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony on Friday night.

“Tyesha has always held her goals in becoming an Olympian,” Grant said. “She missed out on that when she didn’t qualify for the World Championships. Now that she has another opportunity to qualify for the Olympics through the Pan Am Games, she will try her best to do well.”

Mattis, 24, was raised in Hackney, east London, by Jamaican parents. Her father emigrated from Spanish Town, St Catherine at age 15, while her mother also has experience as a former gymnast.

Tyesha’s sister, China, 18, also represents Jamaica’s Reggae Birdz — as the national team is known — but is not a part of the team for the Pan Am Games because it could only field two gymnasts.

“She really started this journey with me so I would love to finish it with her at the Olympics, ultimately, next year. That’s our goal. It means a lot to me to have my mom and my sister along with me on this journey.”

Mattis, who became a gymnast at age three, describes herself as being a hyperactive child growing up. This meant she had no fears about attempting any acrobatic manoeuvres.

“My mom was like, ‘I can’t stop this child from jumping up and down,’ so she just put me into training loads of hours, and she could see that I have a natural talent for gymnastics so she just pushed me in that direction, really.”

Mattis said she had no apprehension about representing Jamaica, and felt welcomed by the people and fellow Jamaican gymnasts when she arrived on the island for the first time in 2022.

“It felt like I was at home,” she said. “And the gymnasts there, I just wanted to show them that, ‘Even though I’m not a part of your club I still want to know everybody in here and get to know people.’ It was nice. I got to know a lot of the gymnasts there, and they said that they haven’t experienced someone from overseas coming here and trying to be friends with them.

“It was new for me and it was new for them, but it was nice that it worked and we’ve all gelled. I feel like I’ve got my own little family over there at the Jamaica School of Gymnastics. They’re a lovely team.”

She feels special wearing the national colours as she gets stopped everywhere she goes by people of other nations wanting to interact with her about her culture.

Mattis came close to making the Rio Olympics in 2016 but missed out due to an injury. Her chances of making it to Paris from the Pan Am are increased by half the competitors here already being qualified.

“I think it’s who shines through the most,” she said of her chances. “If that doesn’t work then it’s like World Cups, which is on rankings. You have to do three, then you have to be high enough in the rankings to see if they’ll offer you a spot.

“I’m just trying to go through every route possible at this moment because you just never know what could happen. That’s why I’m showing my sister especially, out of everybody in my life, that if you keep working hard you can get these opportunities — but you have to be consistent.”

As an artistic gymnast Mattis competes in four sections — floor, vault, beam, and uneven bars.

“At the moment I’m going to stick to the routine I have on bars,” she said. “I’m just going to try and go out with a nice, clean bar routine and a nice, clean beam routine. I have got some upgrades in my beam that I’m very excited about showing. All I can do is just do my best; I’ve done all the training I can possibly do.”

If Mattis qualifies for Paris it would be the third-consecutive time Jamaica has had a gymnast at the Olympics, with Toni-Ann Williams at Rio, and Danusia Francis at Tokyo 2020 being the others.