Sprinter claims Taiwan’s first-ever men’s athletics gold at Universiade

2017/08/28

Taiwan athlete Yang Chun-han powered to victory Aug. 24 in the men’s 100-meter sprint at the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, taking home the country’s first-ever gold in men’s athletics at the global sporting event.
 
 Yang crossed the line in 10.22 seconds to edge out Thando Roto of South Africa and Cameron Burrell of the U.S. His winning time was 0.02 seconds off the national record he set in the Universiade semifinals.
 
 Speaking after the historic performance, Yang said he was confident of claiming gold following his blistering pace in the previous round. “After the semifinal, I felt really anxious and excited at the same time as I knew I was in peak condition and wanted to move on to the final as soon as possible.”
 
According to the athlete, his rapid improvement since failing to qualify for the 2015 Universiade derives from a greater focus on mental preparation and relaxation techniques. “The moment I knew I was champion, my mind filled with all those people who had helped me and offered me encouragement when I was at my lowest point.”
 
Taiwan’s impressive medal count at the Universiade was further bolstered Aug. 24 by the nation’s archery teams, who won silver in both the men’s and women’s recurve events. The competitors lost 6-0 and 5-4, respectively, to their counterparts from archery powerhouse South Korea.
 
 The country also grabbed a silver in the individual archery events, with Tan Ya-ting losing a competitive women’s recurve final to Kang Chae-young. Part of Taiwan’s bronze medal-winning women’s team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Tan kept pace with her South Korean rival in the opening sets before losing 7-3.
 
 As of Aug. 24, Taiwan ranked third in the medal table with 13 golds, 16 silvers and eight bronzes. Following its dominant performance in the archery events, South Korea topped the rankings with 23 golds, 14 silvers and 19 bronzes, while Japan was in second place with 18 golds, 11 silvers and 19 bronzes.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=10&post=120523)