Taiwan’s Ren Chun-ying on Sunday recorded a personal best to bag a gold medal in the women’s pole vault at the Thailand Open Track & Field Championships.
Ren emerged victorious from among eight competitors in her international debut by clearing 4.13m in her second attempt in the final. Her personal best had been 4.1m.
It was the second-best pole vault by a Taiwanese woman in track and field history. The national record is 4.2m, set by Wu Chia-ju in 2018 at the same event in Thailand.
Photo: the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association via CNA
The result came as a surprise to the 23-year-old Ren, who said she felt nervous and had not imagined breaking her own record, not to mention winning a gold medal.
“But I told myself to focus on showcasing what I’ve done in training and let it be,” she said.
Tsai Chien-ming, the head coach of Taiwan’s team competing in the B-class competition in Thailand, praised the pole vault prospect for giving it her best amid many challenges, such as the windy, humid weather, a schedule change and the pressure of competition.
Ren first cleared 4m in 2021, after which she started training at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung.
She said she had developed better skills and run faster thanks to the training over the last three years, enabling her to compete with a heavier pole.
She said she is going to focus on the National Games in October and is looking to clear 4.2m to qualify for next year’s Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan.
In addition to Jen, Chen Yi-chu also won a gold medal in men’s shot put with a 17.32m throw, while Liu Chih-jen secured a bronze in the women’s discus throw.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
Mikel Merino on Sunday scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running. European champions Spain were in unstoppable form in the central Turkish city of Konya, claiming their second biggest-ever away win in World Cup qualifying as Arsenal midfielder Merino scored his first professional hat-trick. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez opened the scoring inside six minutes and later completed the scoring, with Ferran Torres netting the visitors’ other goal. The quality of Merino’s strikes was remarkable, with his
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
RSS