Team Taiwan will come away from the 2004 Athens Olympics with five medals -- two gold, two silver and one bronze -- having at last realized its dream of joining the ranks of the world's athletic champions.
The team secured the biggest medal tally in the nation's Olympic history, ranking 31st in the final medals table out of a total of 202 countries participating -- an improvement of 28 places from its standing of 58th following the Sydney Games in 2000.
"My dream has come true, and we are satisfied with the result of the nation's first gold medals. I will feel no regrets, even though I have to retire," said Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from Taiwan.
In addition to the taekwondo athletes Chu Mu-yen (
The 17-day Athens Olympics was to end with a glorious closing ceremony last night, in which some 40 Taiwanese athletes were to represent the country's delegation. The event was to be festive, cosmopolitan and stylish.
Unlike the opening ceremony, the details of the closing ceremony were not kept secret. From Aug. 24, for three successive days, dress rehearsals were underway in a small area next to where the opening ceremony was held. A single spotlight was used in these proceedings, which otherwise took place in pitch darkness, so that photographers could not take pictures of them.
The ceremony was to begin at 2:15am Taiwan time.
Weather forecasters were predicting a clear evening in Athens, with the moon visible in the sky.
The closing ceremony's designer, Dimitris Papaioannou told a news conference that he wanted to enable the whole world to experience the happiness of a Greek festival and to take part in a Greek feast, before declaring that although the Athens Olympics is now over, the excitement of the event will always remain in the hearts of the people of the world.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue