{"id":2269760,"date":"2024-06-17T15:24:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/18-year-old-rising-star-athlete-dies-a-month-before-he-was-to-compete-in-olympics\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T15:26:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:26:54","slug":"18-year-old-rising-star-athlete-dies-a-month-before-he-was-to-compete-in-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/18-year-old-rising-star-athlete-dies-a-month-before-he-was-to-compete-in-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"18-Year-Old Olympic Hopeful Dies One Month Before Games"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F18-year-old-rising-star-athlete-dies-a-month-before-he-was-to-compete-in-olympics%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2269760&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/axis-of-evil-obamas-clintons-linked-by-suspicious-deaths\/\" title=\"Obama and Clintons connected to suspicious deaths: Axis of Evil?\">tragic \u2062turn<\/a> of events, an 18-year-old kitefoiler named J.J. Rice, who was to\u200b represent\u2063 Tonga in the forthcoming Paris Olympics, \u2062died in a diving \u200daccident. Raised in Tonga by\u200b his British parents, Rice \u2062would have been the first white athlete to compete for Tonga in\u2063 the \u2063Olympics. The accident occurred while he was free diving near \u200bFaleloa, Ha\u2019apai, leading to a\u200b suspected &#8220;shallow water blackout.&#8221; Despite efforts to \u2064save him, he did not survive.<\/p>\n<p>Remembered fondly\u200b by his sister Lily, and many others, Rice was\u200b weeks away from potential Olympic glory, having qualified for the games in December. Off the sports field, he was also a hero, having saved individuals from \u2063drowning on at least two\u200c separate occasions. His premature death has left his community and family mourning a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prince-harry-meghan-markle-honor-prince-phillip\/\" title=\"Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Honor Prince Phillip\">life full<\/a> of promise but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-arrests-4-mexicans-in-smuggling-incident-that-killed-53-migrants-in-texas\/\" title=\"4 Mexicans arrested in Texas smuggling incident that resulted in 53 migrant deaths.\">tragically cut short<\/a>. Lily Rice commemorated her brother\u2019s vibrant life and kind spirit on social media, expressing her profound loss and celebrating his accomplishments and generous personality.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sports\/\">  Sports <\/a>    <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/johnathanjones\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/johnathanjones\/%20\"><span>Johnathan Jones<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   June 17, 2024 at 10:54am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>An 18-year-old kitefolier who was set to represent the South Pacific country of Tonga in this summer\u2019s Paris Olympics died over the weekend in a diving accident.<\/p>\n<p>J.J. Rice, born Jackson James Rice in the U.S. to British parents, was raised on the islands and was set to become the first white athlete to represent the country in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/caitlin-clark-snubbed-left-off-olympics-womens-basketball-roster-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Olympic<\/a> event, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/matangitonga.to\/2024\/06\/17\/diving-accident-claims-life-promising-young-athlete-haapai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matangi Tonga Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rice was free diving from a boat when he died from what the outlet called \u201ca suspected shallow water blackout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Divers retrieved his body from the waters off the coast of Faleloa, Ha\u2019apai.<\/p>\n<p>Attempts to administer lifesaving first aid were not successful, Rice\u2019s father, Darren Rice, told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/facebook-used-facilitate-illegal-immigrants-infiltration-us-border-crossing-fake-work-credentials-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> post flagged by the Tongan media, Rice\u2019s sister, Lily Rice, paid tribute to her late brother, who was only weeks away from competing in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>She commented that she had no doubt he would have brought some hardware back to the small Polynesian country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was blessed with the most amazing brother in the whole world and it pains me to say that he\u2019s passed away,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you plan to watch the Olympics?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Lily Rice added, \u201cI\u2019m going to miss everything about him he was so talented and was amazing at everything he tried he was an amazing kitefoiler and he would have made it to the Olympics and come out with a big shiny medal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/britney-spears-serious-danger-going-broke-deletes-instagram-account-calling-family\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> page for Rice showed he spent a great deal of his time on the water:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/C43eZXoIuk6\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C5dlUZFIeeN\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C31FR7FvXhL\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<p>When Rice was not preparing for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/olympics-embraces-anti-israel-politics-promise-palestinian-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the coming Olympics<\/a> \u2014 which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news.com.au\/sport\/olympics\/athletes-tragic-death-weeks-before-paris-olympics\/news-story\/6b10c427e25f71fc0d3c53fb1d514ba1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">qualified for<\/a> in December \u2014 he was said to have enjoyed playing video games and helping others.<\/p>\n<p>According to Matangi Tonga, Rice risked his own life on two separate occasions to save others who were in danger of drowning.<\/p>\n<p>At age 15, he swam out into the open water after witnessing a ferryboat capsize with 18 people aboard.<\/p>\n<p>In another act of bravery, Rice was said to have swam out to two teen girls who had been swept out to sea from a sandbar.<\/p>\n<p>The teen rescued both girls.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>An Important Message from Our Staff:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We who work here at The Western Journal have fought for years against Big Tech and the elites who want to shut us down and then shut America down. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Make no mistake \u2014 nothing will be the same after November 2024. Will you help us fight? Will you <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>help us expose the America-hating elites<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  who will do everything they can to steal this election? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We\u2019re a small group of people fighting to save the country for our readers and for our own family and friends. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Can we count on your help?<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span>At this point, Big Tech has cut off our access to 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone took 90% of your paycheck and there was nothing you could do. They\u2019re trying to starve us out.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Donations from readers like you have literally helped keep our lights on, and <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>we need you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  now more than ever. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We operate on a shoestring budget, but with that budget, we terrify the globalists. Please help us continue the fight. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, and we will never surrender.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Thank you for reading The Western Journal and for believing in America. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>It is a pleasure to serve you.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. Please don\u2019t let the America-hating left win. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Stand with us today<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44767\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/johnathanjones\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44767\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44767\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44767\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44767\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Johnathan Jones has worked as a reporter, an editor, and producer in radio, television and digital media.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Johnathan &#8220;Kipp&#8221; Jones has worked as an editor and producer in radio and television. He is a proud husband and father. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An 18-year-old kitefolier, J.J. Rice, poised to represent Tonga at the Paris Olympics, tragically died in a diving accident over the weekend. Born Jackson James Rice in the U.S. to British parents, he was raised in Tonga<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2006,"featured_media":2269761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Jackson-James-Rice.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Jackson-James-Rice.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2006"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2269760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2269761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2269760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2269760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2269760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}