Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site.
The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour.
The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the organizer of the event, to invite De Grasse and Nia Ali, who won silver in the 100m hurdles at the Rio Olympics, and other top athletes to compete in Taiwan.
Photo: AP
Other elite athletes include Canada’s Ethan Katzberg, the youngest world championship winner in the men’s hammer throw; Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who won silver in the men’s 100m at the Asian Games; New Zealand’s Lauren Bruce, who previously held the Oceania record in the women’s hammer throw; and Japan’s Sumire Hata, who won the women’s long jump at last year’s Asian Athletics Championships.
“There are so many top talents this year. Since the Olympic Games are nearing, all the athletes are trying their best to get ready,” CTAA general secretary Wang Ching-cheng said on Monday.
The star-studded competition could even motivate local athletes to perform better, Wang said.
The competition could also be Taiwanese athletes’ last opportunity to compete on home turf while trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Qualifying for all events ends on June 30, except the marathon, which ended on May 5.
Taiwan’s Peng Ming-yang and Lin Yu-tang have qualified in the men’s 400m hurdles and long jump respectively, but men’s 100m record holder Yang Chun-han and high jumper Fu Chao-hsuan must still accumulate more ranking points to secure a spot at the Olympics.
Yeh Po-ting, who set a new national record of 2.3m in the men’s high jump at the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games on Wednesday last week, is also hoping to beat his personal best while competing against South Korean elite athlete Woo Sang-hyeok, runner-up at the 2022 World Athletic Championships.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
A man fell from the 6.4m-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. The team issued a statement shortly
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
RSS