A Norwegian triathlete who inadvertently set off a craze for “lucky” baseball caps has agreed to visit Taiwan next month, the Changhua County Government said yesterday.
Gustav Iden, 23, was pictured wearing a baseball cap bearing the name of the county’s Puyan Shunze Temple (埔鹽順澤宮) when he won a triathlon in France last month.
Since then, the temple in Changhua’s Puyan Township (埔鹽) has been flooded with thousands of orders for the “lucky cap,” which it has been handing out free of charge.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The county government said it has been working hard to persuade Iden to visit, while Taiwanese on social media have also been appealing to him to do so.
Changhua County Commissioner Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) at a news conference yesterday said that she has invited Iden to attend the Changhua Marathon Festival, a series of seven marathons that is to be held in the county from this month to December.
Iden has agreed to visit for three days next month, despite his tight training schedule in preparation for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, she said.
During the three-day visit, Iden is to be the pacemaker in the Tianjhung Marathon on Nov. 10, Wang said.
The Norwegian triathlete is also to visit Puyan Shunze Temple to observe the Taiwanese custom of giving thanks after one’s wishes have been granted, Wang said.
In a video, Iden thanked Taiwanese, especially Wang, for inviting him to visit and wished all the participants in the marathon festival “the very best of luck.”
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