Taipei City 26 Aug 2017: Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei has become first Asian to break 90m barrier in the men’s javelin throw. Cheng set new Asian record of 91.26m on his way to win World Underside Gold medal in Taipei City.
After Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Chao-tsun sent his final javelin into the sky of the Taipei Municipal Stadium, he could barely contain himself as he waited for the score. When it came — 91.36 meters — a rip-roaring celebration erupted in the home crowd: Cheng had won gold and he had also set a new Asian record in the javelin.
“Before the competition, I was discussing it with Coach Anders [Borgstrom] and saying I wanted to get past 90 meters and to become Asia’s first to do it. I wanted to be a javelin legend and to leave an incredible score on home soil,” he said later.
“In the end I was very happy, I achieved it. I’m so grateful to the chairman of the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association [Thomas Tsai] and the secretary-general [Wang Ching-cheng], who have always staunchly supported me and helped me get past the hard moments at my lowest points.”
In the same event, Chinese Taipei’s Huang Shih-feng threw 86.64 meters to take bronze, while silver was won by Germany’s Andreas Hofmann with 91.07 meters. The trio was outstanding and no frontrunner was clear until the final throw.
Also on Saturday, Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chieh posted a personal best of 49.05 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles but couldn’t overcome the 48.65 of Dominican Republic’s Juander Santos, who finished first. Chen, who had hoped to win his first individual gold at an international sporting event, had to settle for silver.
