Ga naar Pagina Vorige  1, 2, 3 ... 41, 42, 43 ... 108, 109, 110  Volgende

Taiwanese woman defend World Games tug of war title World Games (19 juli 2009) (KOC-CNA Kaohsiung, July 19) Taiwan's tenacious women's tug of war team swept through a strong field Sunday to defend its World Games tug of war title, outlasting European power the Netherlands in the gold medal match. Taiwan's women's tug of war team members show off their gold medals and callused hands after beating the Netherlands in the World Games women's tug of war indoor finals at the NSYSU Guo Guang High School Gymnasium in Kaohsiung July 19. (KOC-CNA photo by Su Sheng-pin) Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) won the first women's tug of war to be staged at a World Games in Duisburg, Germany in 2005 and had no intention of relinquishing its supremacy in the event, which has become a proud niche in a country not known for its prowess at the highest level of international competition. Taiwan swept through the preliminary round, defeating the five other countries in the competition -- the Netherlands, South Africa, Great Britain, the Ukraine and Japan -- to comfortably reach the semifinals. The Netherlands' women's tug of war team tries to hold on in one of the tugs against Taiwan in the women's tug of war gold medal match at the NSYSU Guo Guang High School Gymnasium in Kaohsiung Sunday. Taiwan won the gold medal. (KOC-CNA photo by Su Sheng-pin) Although Taiwan was more methodical than some of its main rivals, with most of its bouts lasting over one minute, it won all 10 tugs in its five preliminary matches. In tug of war competition, each match features two bouts. Teams that win both are credited with a 3-0 win, while splits are scored 1-1. The Taiwanese then swept Great Britain 3-0 in the semis, winning the two tugs in 1: 50 and 1: 19 before finishing off their quest for gold by outclassing the Netherlands in the two tugs in times of 2: 05 and 1:38. Great Britain beat Japan, the 2005 World Games silver medalist, 3-0 to win the bronze. Taiwan's gold medal continued the women pullers' record of never having lost a major international competition, following up titles at the 2005 World Games and the 2006 and 2008 World Championships. Team members attributed their success to long, painstaking and intensive training sessions, the thick calluses on each team member's palms testifying to their dedication and hard preparation. "It was really an arduous regimen, " said 37-year-old captain Cheng Shu-fang in describing the team's last month of training before the World Games, when it did not take a single break. The next challenge for the Taiwanese women will be the 2010 World Championship to be held in Italy. Unlike men's tug of war, the women's version puts less emphasis on brawn with a maximum weight of 520 kilograms per team, and requires a more refined technique because it is contested indoors. When the tug of war is held outdoors, participants dig in their heels and pull back using the full weight of their bodies, but that technique does not work in the indoor event because the pullers can easily slip. Instead, the pullers try to move back step-by-step to avoid losing their footing. (KOC-CNA story by Wu Shye-chang) Tired British competitors cheer for joy after clinchng the bronze medal against Japan in the World Games women's indoor tug of war competition at the NSYSU Guo Guang High School Gymnasium in Kaohsiung July 19.

Ga naar Pagina Vorige  1, 2, 3 ... 41, 42, 43 ... 108, 109, 110  Volgende