Taiwan Today

In the last 15 years, the Republic of China has participated in three of five Asian Games and three times has won the biggest all-around event - the decathlon. This Chinese monopolization of the "Iron Man of Asia" crown is convincing reputation of the idea that the people of Han are the athletically "sick men" of East Asia.

Two of the decathlon gold medals were captured by Yang Chuan-kuang, better known to both Orient and Occident as "C.K. Yang", at Manila in 1954 and Tokyo in 1958. He scored 5,454 and 7,101 points. In the fifth Asian Games in Bangkok last December, Wu Ah-ming kept the all-around track and field title for the Republic of China with a 7,003-point triumph.

The two-day decathlon opened on December 13 with 15 contestants from 10 countries. The first event was the 100-meter dash. When it was over, spectators at the Thai National Stadium were predicting a Sino-Japanese contest. The first places went to the two countries. Japan's Hiroomi Yamada breasted the tape in 10.7 seconds, closely trailed by China's Chen Chuan-shou at 10.9 seconds. Wu Ah-ming finished third in 11.2 seconds, with Japan's Yukuo Nogami one tenth of a second farther back.

A seesaw battle then developed, as can be seen in the accompanying table.

At the end of the fifth event, Yamada still led with 3,878 points. Wu was second, 340 points behind. Their positions were reversed when Wu leaped 4.10 meters in pole vault for 832 points. Yamada got up to only 2.60 meters and 403 points. Wu held the lead the rest of the way. He broke his own best marks in the 100 meters, 400 meters, and discus. His previous records were 11.5 seconds in the 100, 53.1 seconds in the 400, and 37.85 meters in the platter throw. There was an interesting coincidence in the decathlon at the third and fifth Asian Games. On both occasions, China won first and fourth, Japan second and third.

Both Aborigines

Yang Chuan-kuang and Wu Ah-ming have much in common. Both are Amis, one of the nine aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. Yang is from Taitung and Wu from Hualien, eastern counties facing the Pacific. Both won international recognition in their late 20s after military service. Both are amateur baseball players.

Yang had more favorable training opportunities. He went to the United Stales and was coached by Ducky Drake, who also taught Rafer Johnson, America's top decathlonist. At the Rome Olympiad in 1960, Johnson finished the 10 events with 8,392 points for the gold medal. Yang was 58 points behind and had to be content with second place.

Wu has had no foreign coaching. In fact his only professional training was during three years at the Provincial College of Physical Education at Taichung in central Taiwan. The Bangkok Games was his first formal international competition. He had been named to the Asian Games team in 1962 but China did not compete because of Indonesian obstructionism. He withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics because of a leg injury.

The new "Iron Man of Asia" stands 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 175 pounds. He is from a farm family. In 1943, when Ah-ming was five years old, his father was drafted by the Japanese and sent to the South Pacific. The family did not hear from him after 1944.

Baseball Player

While in primary school, Ah-ming was thin and weak but tall for his age. His teacher and one of this uncles encouraged him to practice high jumping. At the age of 11, he competed in the Eastern Taiwan Athletic Meet and jumped 1.40 meters to finish second among primary school pupils.

At that time, however, he was more interested in baseball than in track and field. He was chosen as catcher because his hands were larger than other players. At Hualien Normal School, he went on catching. Later he was moved to the outfield because of his speed. He was an outfielder in college.

In his college freshman year, a representative of the U.S. Information Service asked him if he would like to go to the United States for professional baseball training. An ardent admirer of Babe Ruth from childhood, he was inclined to look into the possibility. Teachers and friends dissuaded him. They reasoned that Ah-ming might do better in the decathlon than in baseball, and pointed out that the United States has large numbers of professional baseball players.

He began track and field soon after enrollment in normal school. At the age of 15, he competed in the Taiwan High School and College Athletic Meet and finished fifth in the javelin with a throw of 45 meters.

In 1959, a year after graduation from normal school, he competed in the decathlon for the first time. He finished fourth in the 14th Provincial Games with 4,176 points. He had never tried the pole vault until a month before. Two years later, he captured his first gold medal at the 16th Provincial Games with 4,944 points. He then was admitted to the Provincial College of Physical Education upon recommendation of the China Sports Association.

Age No Handicap

Six months later his score reached 5,422 points in the High School and College Athletic Meet. At the 18th Provincial Games in 1963, he captured another gold medal with 5,818 points.

When Wu scored 6,216 points at the 16th Provincial Track Contest in 1964, some sports authorities doubted he could do any better, citing his age as a handicap. Ah-ming proved them wrong by scoring 6,773 points in the 20th Provincial Games. At the tryouts for the Asian Games in September, he scored 6,708 points and then 4 points less in a Sino-Philippines meet last October.

Wu is a gymnastics assistant at the Taipei Institute of Technology. He would like to receive training abroad and have the challenge of closer competition.

His girl friend, Miss Chien Su-o, is a junior at the Provincial College of Physical Education. They have no plans for an early marriage. "It won't be too late to marry after the Mexico Olympiad," Wu said.

At the Bangkok Games, the Chinese team captured five gold, four silver, and ten bronze medals. Three first places were won by Wu Tao-yuan in the individual air rifle, three position small-bore, and standard rifle contests. His scores were 280, 1,114, and 550 points. Another gold medal winner was Miss Chi Cheng, who leaped 5.95 meters in the broad jump. She smashed the record of 5.91 meters set by Japan's K. Sugimura at the first Asian Games in 1951.

Educated in U.S.

Wu Tao-yuan is a design engineer at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. He was born in Chekiang and brought up in Shanghai. His age is officially listed as 42 but actually he is only 37. A friend made the error in filling out his application for a passport. Without supporting documentation, he did not seek correction.

Wu began shooting in Shanghai at the age of 14. Before the fall of the Chinese mainland to the Communists, his father sent him to the United States to study auto engineering and naval architecture. He became a member of the University of California's shooting team and won a gold medal at an inter collegiate championship meet in 1954.

Upon recommendation of a Chinese Marine Corps officer who saw him shoot, Wu Tao-yuan joined the Chinese team at the 16th Olympics in Melbourne. Since then, he has participated in seven international meets as a representative of the Republic of China. He won two silver medals at the 1958 Asian Games.

Wu has competed against Japan's Takao Ishii and the Philippines' Adolfo Feliciano many times. But none of them won a medal at the last three Olympiads. At the third Asian Games, Feliciano won a gold, Wu a sliver, and Ishii a bronze medal in the 300-meter rifle shoot. In the 50-meter pistol competition, Ishii was first, Wu second, and Feliciano third. At the Bangkok Games, Wu defeated both rivals.

Pentathlon Star

Wu Tao-yuan barely missed a fourth gold medal. In the team small-bore rifle contest, he was one of the four in the Chinese group. According to rules, the score of only one may be counted individually. Wu's marks had not been as good as Pan Kuang's 593 points, so Pan was nominated. Pan finished eighth with 577 points. Wu shot 590, 5 points more than the gold medal winner, Korea's Choo Wha Il. The team scores were Japan, 2,333; Korea, 2,328; and China, 2,320.

Miss Chi Cheng is free China's top pentathlonist. She stands 5 feet 7 inches and weighs 132 pounds. Before the Bangkok Games, she was expected to win gold medals in the pentathlon, 100 meters, and broad jump.

However, she did not compete in the 100-meter dash because her coaches wanted her to conserve energy for the pentathlon. In the first pentathlon event - 80-meter hurdles - she was clocked in 11 seconds flat to shatter the old record of 11.4 seconds set by Japan's Ikuo Yoda at Jakarta in 1962. After two more events - shot put and high jump - she led the six other contestants with 2,728 points. Her nearest rival, Japan's Michiko Okamoto, was 50 points behind. Then Miss Chi was compelled to withdraw from the remaining two events - broad jump and 200 meters - because of a leg injury in the high jump.

Taiwan's Iron Girl

She also participated in the women's 400-meter relay. The Chinese team was timed in 47.8 seconds and captured a silver medal. Japan won in 47.1 seconds.

Chi Cheng was born in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan. At 22, she is known as "Iron Girl". The title was conferred in 1962 when she smashed four national records and won three gold medals at the 17th Provincial Games.

Her records are in the 80-meter hurdles (11.9 seconds), high jump (1.57 meters), broad jump (5.58 meters), and pentathlon (4,142 points). She was the 1962 athlete-of-the-year. Although she did not enter the high and broad jumps, her pentathlon marks in these events were better than those of the individual winners. In 1963, she finished third in the high jump at a Sino-Philippines meet in Manila.

Miss Chi first caught the public's eye at the 13th Provincial Games in 1958. She entered the high jump and cleared 1.45 meters.

In 1962, when Taiwan athletes were training for the fourth Asian Games at Jakarta, her speed in the 80-meter hurdles was observed by Vincent Reel, a track coach sent to Taiwan by the U.S. State Department.

Upon the recommendation of Reel, she was sent to the United States early in 1963 for advanced training. On March 27, less than a month after her arrival, she competed in an 80-meter hurdles race at Claremont Men's College. She beat seven other runners in 11.8 seconds - 0.l second faster than China's national record.

On to Mexico

For a year and a half, she studied English at a Los Angeles school for foreigners. In September of 1964, she was admitted to Citrus College at Azusa, California, majoring in physical education. She is the only Chinese among 3,000 students.

She competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad pentathlon and ran second in the 80-meter hurdles in 11.1 seconds. In April of 1966, she scored a record 4,550 points in the five events at a U.S. meet. This was 122 points more than the score of Japan's Michiko Okamoto in winning the gold medal at Bangkok.

Miss Chi is looking forward to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

"I've been running for eight years and I think I can go on for another eight. After that I'd like to coach," she said.

Chi Cheng's withdrawal from the pentathalon called attention to another budding star. Miss Yeh Chui-mei won the silver medal behind Miss Okamoto. Miss Yeh, 22, hails from Taoyuan in northern Taiwan. A graduate of the Provincial College of Physical Education, she teaches gymnastics at Taipei Second Girls' High School.

Her score of 3,971 points was 603 points higher than her best previous mark at the High School and College Athletic Meet in 1965.

She first competed in the pentathlon at the 18th Provincial Games in 1963 and scored only 3,165 points. At a Sino-Philippines meet, she hiked her score to 3,400 points. She is also a basketball player.

The Republic of China devoted eight months of training and a month of orientation to preparations for the Bangkok Games. An official said that considering limited investment in time and money, the team's accomplishments were "not too bad".