Thousands of spectators and athletes gathered at Taipei Municipal Stadium last night to celebrate as the 2009 Summer Deaflympics came to a close.
The Russian Federation bagged the most golds and the most medals at the Games — 29 gold, 41 silver and 28 bronze for a total of 98 medals.
Second and third in terms of gold medals were Ukraine and South Korea, with 20 and 14 medals respectively. Taiwan ranked fifth with 33 medals in total — 11 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The closing festivities included drummers from U Theatre (優人神鼓), the Minghuayuan (明華園) Taiwanese Opera Troupe and Hong Kong singer Aaron Kwok (郭富城).
While watching the performances, athletes enjoyed a banquet of 11 traditional Taiwanese dishes and desserts. Organizers designed the closing ceremony to be unique, and it was the first time a banquet had been held for the celebration.
The dishes included steamed buns, tempura fish cakes, beef noodle soup, minced pork with rice, mango shaved ice, bubble tea and other treats. Each athlete also received pineapple cakes, nougat, coffee-flavored plums and oolong tea to take home.
Spectators in the stands each received a box of snacks and a glowing tambourine during the festivities.
Athletes celebrated the conclusion of the Games by dancing along with the cheerleaders, forming long lines and weaving in and out among the tables.
The Widex Fair Play Award went to Gabor Mathe of Hungary, who won the bronze in the men’s singles tennis.
Mathe took home US$5,000 in prize money. The winner of the award must be under 25 years old or younger and demonstrate sportsmanship, respect and fairness in the Olympic spirit.
The sports director and president of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) reviews nominations submitted by ICSD technical directors in each sport. The final nominee is selected and presented to the Widex representative for approval.
ICSD president Donalda Ammons also presented Athens as the host city of 2013 Summer Deaflympics.
The Chinese delegation, which did not attend the opening ceremony on Sept. 5, did show up for the closing ceremony. Deputy director of the Chinese Deaflympics team Zhao Su-jing (趙素京) said at a press conference before the closing ceremony that the team still had about 52 competitors and staff in Taipei who would attend.
The Chinese team did not carry the Chinese flag upon entering the stadium, instead holding up a banner reading: “Go, Taiwanese compatriots in the disaster zone.”
China attended neither the opening nor closing ceremonies of the World Games in Kaohsiung in July.
Zhao said China sent 78 athletes to the Games this year.
As they were from different provinces and had to gather in Beijing before coming to Taiwan, the team had not been able to make it to the opening ceremony, she said.
Also See: DEAFLYMPICS TAIPEI 2009: Ukraine wins Taipei soccer gold
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
RSS