This week would have been the week of event finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, all gymnastics has been put on hold: except in Taiwan. Taiwan was able to swiftly control its outbreak back in March and has not reported a single attributed death since May. The timely protocols taken by the Taiwanese government allowed for athletes to continue training with little disturbance. This week the Taiwanese Sports Department held a mock competition for all sports in place of the Tokyo Olympics at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung City.
On the men’s side, 2019 World Championships pommel horse silver medalist, Lee Chih-Kai won the meet with a 78.750, and also took home the floor, pommel horse (with two falls!) and parallel bar titles. After the meet, Chih-Kai laughed off his mistakes, “This is the most I have fallen in the recent year, I didn’t realize this competition would be in front of my fellow countrymen [the competition was live streamed]. I hope in the future to get rid of my mistakes and not fall again.” He added, “I hope today I don’t get rid of my luck so I don’t fail at the most important moments.”
2019 World Championships team member and high bar ace, Tang Chia-Hung clinched the high bar title and showed off some spectacular new upgrades, including a massive triple-back dismount. “This is the first time in a while I performed my routines again, I achieved my goals so I am very happy,” he told a reporter.
On the women’s side, Fang Ko-Ching won the competition by a slim margin over Ting Hua-Tien. Ting Hua-Tien, who is Taiwan’s first female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since the 1968 Mexico City Games, struggled on her first event bars but had a clean routine on her signature event beam to clinch the title with a 13.450.
The competition can be streamed on YouTube via MOESports
The 15.366 