Olympic hero Yang dies after suffering a stroke

Taiwan's first Olympic medallist, Yang Chuan-kwang (楊傳廣), died of a stroke in California on Saturday at the age of 74.

Yang won the silver medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and was a legend in Taiwanese sports.

He was at his son's home near Los Angeles when he suffered a stroke and died of a brain hemorrhage three days after being admitted to hospital.

Yang was born in 1933 and was a member of the Ami tribe.

He won gold in the decathlon at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila.

Dubbed the "Iron man of Asia," Yang took silver six years later at the Rome Olympics after a duel with his UCLA schoolmate, Rafer Johnson of the US.

It was the first Olympic medal Taiwan had ever won.

In 1963, Yang set a final world record of 9,121 points in California before the grading formula for the decathlon was changed.