Sports
Saint-Martin swimmer Tatiana Illis missed the 2023 World Championships over travel costs
Saint-Martin swimmer Tatiana Illis, 21, qualified for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka but could not go because she could not raise about US$8,000 for flights, Caribbean Network reported.
By SXM Daily ยท
Reported 8 August 2023.
Saint-Martin swimmer Tatiana Illis, then 21, qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, but was unable to compete because she could not raise the money for the trip, Caribbean Network (NTR) reported on 8 August 2023.
She told Caribbean Network that about US$8,000 was needed for plane tickets, and that last-minute rises in fares put the trip out of reach. She said she had received no help from the government or other organisations with the travel costs.
According to the report, Illis was the first female swimmer from Saint Martin to represent the island at a World Championships, and had qualified five times before. It was the first time money had kept her away.
Illis said her goal remained the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and that she would try to qualify through the Pan American Games instead. She said sports funding had to be requested six months before an event, which did not fit swimming's qualification calendar.