Olympic Gymnast Tang Chia-hung Looking To Swing His Way to Gold at Paris 2024
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung has already won three gold medals at World Cup events this year. He's now looking to take the top of the Olympic podium in Paris this summer.
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00:00 (rock music)
00:02 - Swinging from a horizontal bar,
00:15 flipping, turning, and performing stunts midair
00:18 is already hard enough.
00:20 But to be one of the best at it in the entire world
00:23 is another thing entirely.
00:25 (speaking in foreign language)
00:29 - Dexterous, agile, and with cat-like precision.
00:35 That's how Tang Jiahong gets his nickname.
00:38 He's a world-class gymnast.
00:41 (speaking in foreign language)
00:45 - Tang is a gold medalist at both the Asian Games
00:53 and the Summer University Ed.
00:55 But now he has his sights set on the Paris 2024 Olympics.
01:00 He's qualified for the games and he's raring to go.
01:03 (speaking in foreign language)
01:07 - Tang has dedicated his career
01:18 in part to showing Taiwan to the world.
01:22 (speaking in foreign language)
01:26 - Tang's journey began when he was in kindergarten.
01:33 He was diagnosed with mild ADHD
01:35 and his father turned him to gymnastics as an outlet.
01:39 (speaking in foreign language)
01:43 (speaking in foreign language)
01:47 - Tang has been a gymnast his entire life
02:03 and has excelled at it.
02:05 But his impressive feats came at a price.
02:08 By the time he got into college,
02:09 he'd had elbow surgery three times.
02:12 He's also gone under the knife
02:14 for wrist and Achilles tendon injuries.
02:17 (speaking in foreign language)
02:21 - Go!
02:40 (speaking in foreign language)
02:43 - Even so, Tang and his coach aren't taking any risks
02:46 as they train for Paris.
02:48 To reduce the odds of injury,
02:50 Tang doesn't land on his feet
02:52 to finish his practice routine.
02:53 Instead, he finishes each maneuver
02:55 by slamming down onto a gym mat,
02:57 letting his body absorb the impact of his fall.
03:00 Over the course of training,
03:02 this happens over,
03:03 and over,
03:05 and over again.
03:09 (gun firing)
03:10 Tang's sacrifice and caution have paid off.
03:14 He's already won three gold medals
03:16 at the International Gymnastics Federation's
03:19 World Cup events so far this year.
03:22 He and his coach hope to carry this momentum
03:24 all the way to the top of the Olympic podium.
03:27 (speaking in foreign language)
03:31 (speaking in foreign language)
03:35 His coach has full faith in him.
03:43 (speaking in foreign language)
03:58 Tang Jiahong can pull his body weight into the air
04:01 like it weighs nothing.
04:03 He makes it look so effortless,
04:05 but as is the case with Tang,
04:07 nothing is as easy as it seems.
04:10 Behind his success is a relentless desire
04:12 to win at the highest level,
04:14 and he'll do what it takes to get there,
04:16 diving face first into his challenges.
04:19 Howard Zhang and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
04:21 (music fades)
04:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]