Thu, Feb 21, 2002 page14

• Nation's Olympic odyssey hits another rocky bottom

  CURRYING FAVOR Taiwan's Olympic committee has been hit by a guest pass scam at the Winter Games, while the country's athletes prepare for competition with a little street racing ...

  • By Jules Quartly / CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
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  Just days away from competing in the four-man bobsled event at the US Winter Games, Taiwan's Olympic team is self destructing.

  A major row over credentials-for-friends has led to a formal complaint against the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (中華奧會).

  It has been accused by the Chinese Taipei Amateur Luge and Bobsleigh Association (中華民國雪車雪橇協會) of taking its guest passes to attend Olympic events and giving them instead to friends of Olympic committee members to curry influence.

  

  TPE-1, piloted by Taiwan's Chen Chin-san, crashes on curve 14 during a training run for the four-man bobsled at the winter Olympics in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday. Chen's shoulder is still recovering from accidents picked up qualifying.

  PHOTO: AP

  In a copy of the complaint faxed to the Taipei Times, the association claimed that one of the people who received a guest pass boasted about it at a public gathering. "At a dinner party on Monday, Tang We-tsu (唐尉祖), a man who is not in the Taiwan delegation, even publicly showed off his guest pass to others," the faxed document alleged.

  As a result there were no guest passes for the honorary chairman of the luge and bobsled association Hsu Chi-you (許啟祐) and Team Taiwan spokesman and luge coach Sam Huang (黃宏文).

  The association said the Olympic committee then lied when it claimed all the guest pass holders were approved by the National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, the Legislative Yuan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  "How could someone who is not in the Taiwan delegation be granted a guest pass so easily?" the association asked, demanding an answer from the Olympic committee.

  `No comment'

  The Olympic committee was contacted by the Taipei Times and said though it was aware of the row it was not able to comment at this time.

  Meanwhile, pilot Chen Chin-san (陳金山) and the other three athletes in the four-man bobsled team are risking life and limb preparing for Saturday's first competition run.

  Their practice times so far have not been promising, as they have been getting used to a new sled with just days to go before the race.

  The depressing catalogue of problems with funding for a bobsled and equipment has given Taiwan's athletes little time to practice for their event in Utah.

  There has been talk of setting up a Taiwan bobsled association in the US and funding it through private donations, so as to gain some independence from Taiwanese officialdom.

  As it is, the team's preparations for this Winter Games have been poor and a threatened boycott three days before the opening ceremony didn't help.

  Despite the training-run woes and internecine feuding in the Team Taiwan camp, it hasn't all been boardroom meetings and bruising bob runs for the nation's Olympic champions.

  The team secured a competitive sled thanks to Granite High School in Salt Lake City and they have been cleared to run on Saturday, Feb. 23.

  Also, there have been lighter moments, including a trip to watch street races in the outskirts of Salt Lake City. Similar illegal burnups featured in the recent film, The Fast and the Furious and are illegal in the US.

  Bam Bam's back

  Steve "Bam Bam" Lynch -- who along with fellow trucker the "Texas Outlaw" rescued Taiwan's Olympians on the way to Salt Lake City -- also returned for a visit.

  A source on the team who wished not to be named said the gathering of street racers was particularly nervous because of the extra police and soldiers on hand to protect the Olympics from terrorist attacks.

  He said, "A lot of the older street racers have been lying low due to the high level of security that is felt all around Salt Lake City.

  "The younger racers just don't care, for them it's an adventure. There were about 100 plus kids, just ripping up the asphalt.

  "It was like a shoot out," he said, between cars made in the East and those from the West. "Mustang versus Camaro, Honda versus Dodge ...."

  Police action

  Then, Taiwan's intrepid bunch of Olympians and outlaws was nearly busted by a police raid.

  "Suddenly, someone heard a call on the police scanner. `Cops, Cops, Cops,' everyone was shouting. The group scattered like ants in every direction and the cars all left within a few seconds. All you could see was red tail lights whizzing in every direction."

  The Taiwan team member said races can change location up to five times in a night in order to evade the police.

  Team Taiwan met up with some of the racers later at a 24-hour diner to swap stories about their racing experiences over some pancakes, burgers and milkshakes.

  Additional reporting by staff writer
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