Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site.
The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour.
The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the organizer of the event, to invite De Grasse and Nia Ali, who won silver in the 100m hurdles at the Rio Olympics, and other top athletes to compete in Taiwan.
Photo: AP
Other elite athletes include Canada’s Ethan Katzberg, the youngest world championship winner in the men’s hammer throw; Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who won silver in the men’s 100m at the Asian Games; New Zealand’s Lauren Bruce, who previously held the Oceania record in the women’s hammer throw; and Japan’s Sumire Hata, who won the women’s long jump at last year’s Asian Athletics Championships.
“There are so many top talents this year. Since the Olympic Games are nearing, all the athletes are trying their best to get ready,” CTAA general secretary Wang Ching-cheng said on Monday.
The star-studded competition could even motivate local athletes to perform better, Wang said.
The competition could also be Taiwanese athletes’ last opportunity to compete on home turf while trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Qualifying for all events ends on June 30, except the marathon, which ended on May 5.
Taiwan’s Peng Ming-yang and Lin Yu-tang have qualified in the men’s 400m hurdles and long jump respectively, but men’s 100m record holder Yang Chun-han and high jumper Fu Chao-hsuan must still accumulate more ranking points to secure a spot at the Olympics.
Yeh Po-ting, who set a new national record of 2.3m in the men’s high jump at the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games on Wednesday last week, is also hoping to beat his personal best while competing against South Korean elite athlete Woo Sang-hyeok, runner-up at the 2022 World Athletic Championships.
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