Taiwanese-American athlete Alec Hsu is expected to represent Taiwan in the pole vault competition at the Asian Games once he obtains a Taiwanese passport and citizenship, a Chinese Taipei Athletics Association official said yesterday.
Hsu, 19, is a sophomore at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and is on the school’s track and field team. He contacted the association in July, expressing his interest in competing for Taiwan in Guangzhou, China, in November, association Secretary-General Wang Ching-cheng said.
“At the time, I didn’t know where this kid came from,” Wang said. “I didn’t know where he learned about our selection criteria — I was totally surprised.”
However, the association is happy that Hsu saw the selection criteria on its Web site and sought an opportunity to represent his mother country, Wang said.
At 1.88m tall, Hsu has a good athletic build and a bright future, Wang said.
Hsu’s personal best of 5.22m in an outdoor setting is much better than the association’s criteria of 5.1m to qualify for the men’s pole vault, but competitors will need to vault at least 5.4m to be in line for a bronze medal at the Asian Games, Wang said.
“Hsu will have a much better chance of winning a medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea” Wang said.
Nonetheless, the association has asked Taiwan’s representative office in Los Angeles to issue Hsu a passport as soon as possible, Wang said. After that, the association will help Hsu to obtain Taiwanese citizenship.
Dual citizenship is allowed in Taiwan and in the US in certain circumstances.
Hsu is from Phoenix, Arizona, where he led Desert Vista High School to three straight Arizona state championships. He also competed in the 110m hurdle event in high school and university, Wang said.
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