For Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday should have been the pinnacle of a storied career, and yet she felt a mixed bag of emotions.
Relief that she had finally chased down an Olympic gold medal at her third Summer Games, regret that she had not managed to break her own world record and a growing resolve to compete in Paris in 2024 to achieve what she said would be a “perfect score.”
With Kuo’s closest rivals in her weight class either sidelined by injury, COVID-19 concerns or strategic decisions, the event was as much a coronation as a competition.
Photo: Reuters
Her first attempt in the snatch at 100kg came after the rest of the field had exhausted their lifts, and when Kuo successfully hoisted 125kg in her first attempt in the clean and jerk, the gold was hers.
Her second attempt of 133kg was also a success, but she failed in her final attempt at 141kg to break her world record of 140kg, set at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
Speaking after the competition, Kuo said her Olympic gold had “completed the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle.”
“I was extremely overwhelmed in the moment, even though I felt like I did not meet my own standards,” she said.
Entering the Olympics, Kuo said, the first order of business was to get the gold, but she also wanted to achieve her personal best and her inability to do so is bothering her, to the point that she now wants to compete in Paris in 2024.
“When I did not make [that third lift of 141kg], I thought to myself: ‘No, I have to have a perfect score,’” she said.
As Kuo was accepting her medal in Tokyo, her family members were celebrating back home, in Taitung County.
Crammed in the living room in front of the television, they held homemade placards and wore matching blue T-shirts with the word “Kuo” printed on them.
After Kuo secured the gold, her uncle leaped into the air and rushed outside to set off firecrackers.
“We’ve waited for this moment for 10 years, and it is finally here,” he said.
Kuo’s mother said she felt immensely proud, and she thanked everyone for their support of her daughter.
Asked if she felt regret that Kuo did not manage to break her own record, she said that all that mattered was that her daughter was safe.
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