Despite fears that Typhoon Chebi would disrupt the races, the 2001 Taipei International Dragon Boat Race Championship went off without a hitch. \nWith roughly 105 teams competing in eleven divisions, the three days of preliminaries have yielded numerous electrifying races. \nIn the men's open division, the Hsintien City Administrative Office team -- the winners of last year's Presidential Cup -- are currently sitting in pole position after their narrow 0.96-second victory against the Hsintien City Dragon Boat team. \nIn the women's open division, the Taipei Physical Education College team currently holds the top spot. The top teams in the open divisions, which are the largest divisions, are usually the strongest contenders for the Presidential Cup. \nAs the competition is double-elimination, teams sitting at the top of the winner's bracket are at an advantage, as the only team that can displace them has to first work their way up through the loser's bracket, and then defeat the team in the winner's bracket twice. \nIn the men's international division, Thailand and the Phoenix Sister Cities Connection are competing for the top spot. \nAs in previous years, communication problems have plagued the teams in this division as all announcements are made in Chinese. \nSeveral teams, including two Japanese teams, the Aqua Fortis Dragon Boat Rowing team from the Philippines, and a team from Hawaii, have had to forfeit a race at some point during the three-day preliminaries because they didn't realize it was time for their team to report to the docks. \nFor some teams in the international division, the races are already over. Janie Moor from England, who is serving as captain of the Taipei Language Institute team for her second year and participating for her third, was happy with her team's fifth place finish. \n"The team really came together in their last couple of races, and I'm pleased with their performance-this is the best result we've had in years. The camaraderie was just brilliant." \nOther teams, such as the Center for Chinese Language and Culture's men's team, continue to fight their way up through the loser's bracket. \nSteven Blessing from the US and the captain of this year's team said his boat's chances were pretty good. "The team has performed admirably despite running into several setbacks, including members becoming sick with colds, fever, food poisoning, and the like following our competition last weekend at Bitan.
Politicians are meant to kiss babies, not crash into children, but on the campaign trail yesterday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison barrelled into a young boy during a friendly kickaround, eliciting a chorus of stunned “ooohs” and “aaaws” from spectators. Morrison was playing five-a-side soccer in northern Tasmania, where he is trawling for votes ahead of Saturday’s election. At first, Morrison — shorn of his jacket, but still sporting a shirt and tie — sauntered around the field somewhat aimlessly, trying to get a toe on the ball here and there as it ping-ponged from boy to boy. However, then the 54-year-old stepped
Being shot in both eyes and completely blinded did not stop Zion Ricks-Gaines from skateboarding. It made him want to do it even more. “I still want to go pro, I still want to accomplish being a professional skateboarder,” the 19-year-old said as he readied a kickflip at a skate park in San Francisco. He wants to share that enthusiasm with everyone he meets. “I want to start more skate after-school programs for students. I feel like I wouldn’t have really looked in that direction if I had my sight,” he said. Ricks-Gaines’ life was derailed outside a bar late last year when a
Taiwan’s Chuang Chih-yuan on Sunday clinched the men’s singles title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Feeder Westchester tournament in New York state after defeating Benedikt Duda of Germany in the final. Chuang, 41, known as Taiwan’s “godfather of table tennis,” edged out 25-year-old Duda 3-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7 in 55 minutes, 54 seconds at the Westchester Table Tennis Center. The win was Chuang’s first men’s singles title since he won the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest in 2016. It was his second title in Westchester following a victory in the mixed doubles final with
TATUM STEPS UP: The Boston Celtics forced Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks, with Jayson Tatum outdueling Giannis Antetokounmpo with the season on the line The Golden State Warriors on Friday grabbed 70 rebounds on the way to eliminating the Memphis Grizzlies 110-86 to advances to face either the Phoenix Suns or the Dallas Mavericks in a best-of-seven battle for the West. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are cherishing this playoff run a little more given that they spent the past two years watching the post-season instead of in their familiar position of chasing championships. Now, with those experienced faces and a cast of new stars, the Warriors are headed to another Western Conference Finals and need just four more wins to give themselves a
RSS