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U.S.-born kitefoiler J.J. Rice dies at age 18 in diving accident weeks before his Olympics debut
United States-born kitefoiler J.J. Rice, who was set to represent Tonga at the Paris Olympics, died in a diving accident. He was 18.
Rice’s father Darren Rice confirmed his son’s death Monday to the Matangi Tonga newspaper.
Jackson James Rice was set to become the first Caucasian to represent Tonga at an Olympic Games. His death happened Saturday at Faleloa, on the island of Ha’apai in the Tonga archipelago.
He was free diving from a boat when he suffered a suspected shallow water blackout, Matangi Tonga reported. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
“I was blessed with the most amazing brother in the whole world and it pains me to say that he’s passed away,” Rice’s sister Lily said in a Facebook post. “He was an amazing kitefoiler and he would have made it to the Olympics and come out with a big shiny medal. He made so many amazing friends all over the world.”
Rice had recently returned to Tonga after competing in the 2024 Formula Kite World Championships in France, the Matangi Tonga reported.
Rice was born in the United States to British-born parents but grew up on Ha’apai where his parents operate a tourist lodge. “I’ve lived in Tonga my whole life, I see myself as a Tongan,” he told Matangi Tonga last month. “I don’t see myself as anything else.”
Rice often posted videos of himself training in Tonga on his Instagram account.
In an Instagram post last month, Rice said he wanted to “say a big thank you to everyone who has supported, mentored, given me a couch to stay on and pushed me to my absolute limit.”
“Thank you firstly to my mum and dad without you guys nothing would be possible,” he wrote.
Rice finished eighth at the Sail Sydney event in December to earn his Olympic place. Kitefoiling will be an Olympic sport for the first time in Paris.
Rice recently had been training and competing in Europe.
Kitefoilers race on boards that are lifted off the water on foils and can reach speeds of more than 30 mph.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate whether incendiary devices detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and the U.K. were part of a larger operation directed by Russian Intelligence services (in particular, the GRU — Russian military intelligence), the highest level of the Russian government or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter said.
Officials are working to determine whether the larger operation was to place similar devices on aircraft servicing the U.S. and U.S. allies. The Wall Street Journal first reported the alleged plot targeting U.S. aircraft.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment published at the end of October said the U.S. continues to be concerned about threats to the aviation and air cargo systems, including the “potential use of the air cargo supply chain to ship concealed dangerous and potentially deadly items.”
DHL said in a statement that it was aware “of two recent incidents involving shipments in our network. We are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to protect our people, our network and our customers’ shipments.”
“We continually adjust our security posture as appropriate and promptly share any and all relevant information with our industry partners, to include requirements and recommendations that help them reduce risk,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
“Over the past several months, as part of a multi-layered security approach, TSA worked with industry partners to put additional security measures for U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers regarding certain cargo shipments bound for the United States, in line with the 2021 TSA Air Cargo Security Roadmap,” the TSA’s statement continued.
The FBI declined to comment.
contributed to this report.
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
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