Taiwan’s women’s tug-of-war team on Friday swept the outdoor 540kg division to bag the nation’s first gold at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, and their fifth consecutive gold medal at the international multisport event.
Taiwan defeated Sweden 3-0 in the finals at the University of Alabama at the Birmingham Track and Field Complex to remain undefeated in the six-team preliminary round.
“Five consecutive championships in 21 years is really not easy,” the national Tug of War Association wrote in an online post.
Photo: CNA
After qualifying for the World Games last year, Taiwan continued to train despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they never gave up, demonstrating their determination, the association said.
Taiwan head coach Kuo Sheng (郭昇) said the victory did not come easy, as some of his athletes are high-school students and are not as experienced as older members on the squad.
Luckily, the collective focus and unity of the nine-member team produced impressive results, Kuo added.
Photo: CNA
In the final, Taiwan won their first and second pulls in 26 seconds and 18 seconds respectively to win the best-of-three match.
Switzerland won bronze, while the UK, the Netherlands and Germany finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised the gold medalists on Facebook yesterday, saying that everyone in Taiwan was proud of their achievement.
During the competition, the athletes showed the results of their long-term training, and performed uniformly and with a sense of rhythm, she wrote.
Tsai also praised the hard work of the coaches, including Kuo, who continued to train the athletes, despite being badly injured in a cycling accident.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) also posted messages of congratulations on Facebook, with Lai saying the athletes’ achievements put Taiwan in the limelight.
Also on Friday, Taiwan’s Wei Chu-cheng (魏居正) fell short of winning a bronze in the men’s 85kg jujutsu, losing 9-6 to Germany’s Daniel Zmeev.
Earlier in the day, Zmeev blanked Wei in their Pool A match, winning 14-0. Wei then won his next Pool A fight, defeating Mexico’s Balam Quitze 13-9 to set up a semi-final bout against Serbia’s Nikola Trajkovic, which the 31-year-old Taiwanese won 14-17.
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu beat South Korea’s Park Eun-ji 9-1 to advance to the women’s 9-ball semi-finals. Chou, 35, was yesterday to play Germany’s Veronika Ivanovskaia, with the winner later yesterday competing for gold, and the other for bronze.
Taiwan’s mixed korfball team won their Group A preliminary against Portugal 19-11, setting them up to face Belgium in yesterday’s semi-finals.
In men’s freestyle wakeboard, Taiwan’s Yang Yu-yeh finished atop the last-chance qualifiers heat with 55.67 points. The 15-year-old was yesterday to compete in the first heat of the semi-finals.
In men’s canoe polo, the Taiwanese team lost both of their Group B preliminary-round matches, with the Netherlands winning 8-2 in the early match, and Italy winning 3-2 in the evening one. Taiwan were yesterday to face France in the quarter-finals.
Taiwan as of Friday had 11 medals, with one gold, five silvers and five bronzes.
Germany were atop the medal standings with 21 golds, four silvers and 14 bronzes, followed by Italy with 11 golds, 21 silvers and 12 bronzes. The US were in third with 11 gold, 11 silvers and six bronzes.
The Games end tomorrow.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old