Taiwan on Wednesday secured one silver and two bronze medals at the inaugural World Deaf Youth Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The nation’s first medal was won by runner Wei Yu-tze, who clocked a personal best of 11.07 seconds in the men’s 100m at Centro Paralimpico Brasileiro and took second place.
Wei’s achievement was followed by Chen Yun-hsuan, the sole female member of the athletics team, securing third place in the women’s 100m with a time of 14.54 seconds.
Photo courtesy of Chengde Senior High School
Swimmer Li Yi-ling, the youngest of Taiwan’s 16 athletes participating at the Games, also earned a bronze in the women’s 200m individual medley, recording a time of 2 minutes, 41.68 seconds.
In an interview with Vamos Sports, Wei said that his result was “not bad,” adding that it was a challenge to be in top form during what is typically a preparatory period in Taiwan.
“I feel much better today than the past two days. And because this is the first time I have dealt with such intense jet lag... I feel I performed relatively well,” Wei said, adding that he aims to do even better next time.
Chen Ying-chi, Wei’s coach at Hsinchu City’s Chengde Senior High School, told reporters that this was Wei’s first international event, which had made him nervous about adjusting to things like the venue and jet lag.
Chen Ying-chi told Vamos Sports that considering Wei primarily competes in decathlon, his new best time would put him in a “very competitive” position.
Although she did not watch the live broadcast of Wei’s race, his mother said that she had spoken to him on the phone to help ease his nerves and that she had been excited to receive the good news from him.
Wei was also concerned about his cat, which had fallen ill before he left, his mother said, adding: “He even asked me whether I had taken the cat to see a vet.”
Meanwhile, Chen Yun-hsuan, who had also not participated in an international competition before, told Vamos Sports that she was “pleased” and “surprised” to secure third in the 100m, particularly because she is a long-distance runner.
Looking back at the progress she has made, Chen Yun-hsuan said that her efforts had “paid off.”
The first-ever World Deaf Youth Games is organized by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf and includes athletes from 15 countries competing in athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, futsal, swimming and table tennis.
The Games began on Wednesday and end today.
Taiwanese are scheduled to compete in all of the sports except for futsal and table tennis.
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