Taiwan’s Kuo Hsing-chun broke a 10-year world record in the women’s 58-kilogram weightlifting category Aug. 21 at the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade to claim the nation’s fourth gold at this year’s games.
Kuo, already leading with a snatch of 107 kg, lifted a record-breaking 142 kg in the clean and jerk to surpass the 141 kg record set by mainland China’s Qiu Hongmei in 2007. Finishing with a combined 249 kg, Kuo took first place over rival Sukanya Srisurat of Thailand, a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Breaking records at the Universiade—the largest sporting event ever staged in Taiwan—had been her primary goal, Kuo said, adding that her only real opponent is herself. “One of my long-time wishes has always been to smash records at home,” she said.
Coach Lin Jing-neng said Kuo’s subpar performance at last year’s Olympics, where she earned a bronze medal in the same category, was one of the greatest disappointments either of them have ever faced. He said that Kuo has since fought to overcome her fears, as demonstrated in her excellent performance at the Universiade.
The nation’s first gold in the games went to Chen Yan-cheng, who claimed victory in the men’s 10,000-meter points-elimination roller sports. In the women’s event, Yang Ho-chen claimed gold, with her teammate Li Meng-chu taking silver.
The gold for the taekwondo mixed pair poomsae category went to Li Cheng-gang and Su Chia-en.
As of Aug. 21, Taiwan was ranked third in the medal count with four golds, seven silvers and two bronzes, behind South Korea’s 10 golds, three silvers and six bronzes and North Korea’s five golds, three silvers and one bronze. (CPY-E)
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