Like most gymnasts, Tang Chia-Hung first got into gymnastics when his parents noticed his hyperactivity. His father even recalled hanging sandbags from Chia-Hung’s feet to get him to calm down. The ultimate solution to tame his restlessness was to sign him up for gymnastics.
Now at 25, Tang Chia-Hung made history for Taiwanese gymnastics by finishing seventh all around at the Olympic Games with a 84.798, the highest finish ever for a Taiwanese gymnast. Highbar, his strongest event, was the highlight of his meet where he scored a 14.766, the second highest score of the competition.
In addition to the individual accomplishments, Chia-Hung is also part of a historic Taiwanese gymnastics team. The last time Taiwan sent a full delegation to the Olympic Games was at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, back in Tokyo 57 years later the men finished with a historic tenth place finish in qualifications, following an astonishing sixth place team finish at the 2019 World Championships.
After the all Olympic all-around final he took to Instagram to thank his coach, Wang Shiheng for the sacrifices and guidance he provided to make his Olympic dreams come true. Chia-Hung also alluded to continuing his gymnastics career. “In the future I will continue to keep [coach Weng] working, because our dream isn’t only Tokyo. The future is 2024, 2028… “
The 15.366 