IWF120y/34 – 1984: The beginning of a solid Olympic presence for Chinese Taipei

Outside our sports community, it is hard to find someone capable of identifying the most successful sport in Chinese Taipei: the answer is weightlifting. Out of the 43 medals achieved by the island at the Olympics, 11 (leading the chart) were earned by lifters. It all started in 1984, when the Games were only available for men: in the 60kg, Tsai Wen-yee opened the way with a bronze – he remains the only male Olympic weightlifting medallist for Chinese Taipei. The subsequent 10 podium presences were all achieved by women, after female competitions were admitted in the Games, in 2000. On that successful debut in Sydney (AUS), Li Feng-ying and Kuo Yi-hang got respectively the silver in the 53kg and bronze in the 75kg category. From the 2008 Games onwards, and until last year’s edition in Paris, female weightlifters from Chinese Taipei have always medalled. In Beijing, Chen Wei-ling became the first-ever gold medallist in the 48kg category, while her teammate Lu Ying-chi earned silver in the 63kg. Chen Wen-huei closes the list of single medallists, with a bronze (64kg) at the Tokyo 2020ne Olympics. Two athletes deserve however a special mention, as they clinched at least two Olympic medals in the Sport: Hsu Shu-ching has two victories in the 53kg (London 2012 and Rio 2016) and Kuo Hsing-chun (photo) was three times on an Olympic podium: gold in Tokyo 2020ne (59kg), and two bronze (in Rio 2016 and Paris 2024). Kuo (or “Tana” as she is also known) is arguably the best weightlifter the island has produced: besides her Olympic achievements, she is also a five-time world champion and winner of six continental championships. At 31, she has established 11 World Records so far throughout her career.