Last month, Tiago and his brother Taylor, 22, took on the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, finishing fourth in the 80 years-and-under category (combined ages).
Now, battered but not beaten, Tiago is on the Gold Coast preparing to represent New Zealand in the Battle of the Tasman, a surf lifesaving competition where the best athletes from New Zealand and Australia compete across pool rescue and ocean events.
The event runs from August 29-30.
In Hawaii, the brothers raced in individual stints to cover the 42km Ka’iwi Channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu, each paddling for 20-45 minutes before swapping.
Fatigue set in just two hours into the race, compounded by seasickness and sunburn – but it wasn’t enough to stop them.
“We kind of felt, like, holy s**t there’s still a long way to go, definitely a lot of pain,” Tiago said.
The heat was another challenge, one impossible to prepare for during Christchurch’s winter.
With more than 300 competitors across a range of categories on the water at once, Tiago described the race as “carnage”.
The pair crossed the line in six hours 45 minutes. Tiago’s final stint ended about 2km from the finish, leaving Taylor to paddle toward the cheering crowd as his brother watched from the support boat.
“I’m definitely proud we’ve completed it,” Tiago said.
“It was pretty surreal – we can say we’ve done it, and we don’t have to do it again.”
Making the race even more special was completing it together.
“I’ve never raced with him, so it’s kind of cool to do something that big,” he said.
Tiago now turns his attention to the Battle of the Tasman. It will be his first time representing New Zealand in surf lifesaving, and he is soaking up the opportunity to train in the Australian environment.
“It's definitely an eye opener, coming over here, racing against the best of the best,” he said.
“I’ve got to try perform the best I possibly can and hopefully make everyone proud,” he said.
His specialties are the single surf ski, the ski relay and the taplin, but he will also compete in beach sprints, beach flags and pool rescue events.
With rumours surf lifesaving could be part of the 2032 Olympics, Tiago has a long-term goal.
“Competing for your country at the highest stage possible is an unreal achievement,” he said.
