Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association
Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwanese athletes snagged another gold medal at the 2018 TWIF World Outdoor Championships in South Africa on Saturday, giving Taiwan six gold medals at this year's championships with other events still being contested.
The tug-of-war team from Taipei Jingmei Girls High School and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) defeated the host country to win the women's U23-500 kilogram title.
The biennial Tug of War World Championships, being held from Sept. 19 to 22, featured Open Club Championships in the first two days, with clubs from around the world eligible to participate. The official World Championships were being held Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, another team consisting of students from Jingmei Girls High School and NTNU won a gold medal in the women's 500-kilogram tug-of-war event after defeating Switzerland 2-0 in the finals.
After the victory, the girls immediately called their head coach in Taiwan, said Cho Yao-peng, secretary-general of the Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association.
"The athletes wanted to use this medal to honor Kuo Sheng, inspire him to get back on his feet again and continue to fight alongside them in the future," Cho said.
Two months prior to the competition, Kuo was hit by a drunk driver on his way to Hehuanshan, one of Taiwan's highest mountains. He survived the accident but is now paralyzed from the waist down, according to Cho.
"Coach, we did it and so can you," the students said after winning gold.
"Despite missing their coach, our athletes did not lose their fighting spirit....I'm extremely proud of them, and I hope Kuo can get back up soon and make his athletes be proud of him," Cho said.
