.
President William Lai (Lai Ching-te) will personally present Taiwan’s Olympic team with the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag prior to their departure, and will encourage them to perform at their best, to inspire Taiwanese and bring cheer to the world.
At the opening ceremonies, the national team will enter the venue wearing marine-blue suits designed by Justin Chou. The double-breasted jackets are made of “carbon capture” yarn; the polo shirts use cooling germanium-fiber fabric; and the woven labels on the jacket cuffs are made from oyster-shell yarn produced in Tainan. These uniforms demonstrate the technological capabilities of Taiwan’s textile industry and its commitment to sustainable development.
The Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education has adopted a number of novel approaches for the 2024 Olympics. For example, they have obtained the use of a government-run sports facility in the Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret where athletes competing in various sports including badminton, judo, and boxing can train without the bother of waiting for reservations at one of the pre-games training camps. Instead, they can do weight training or fatigue recovery right in their own sports center.
Moreover, the Sports Administration has rented an apartment where, with the help of Taiwanese individuals and businesses, hot Taiwanese-style food can be prepared and delivered to athletes at any of the competition venues. This will save the athletes the tiring journeys from the event venues to the athletes’ villages for meals.
On January 1, 2022 the Sports Administration and the National Sports Training Center (NSTC) launched a program called the Gold Plan for Olympics Preparation (Gold Plan 2.0). The first Gold Plan program, under which teams of experts designed customized training regimens for each athlete, led to record-setting medal-winning success at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sports Administration director-general Cheng Shih-chung says that in 2023, professional golfers and tennis players were incorporated into Gold Plan 2.0. At present, preliminary training is already underway for athletes who have the potential to win medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Cheng says that Taiwan’s performance at world-class competitions will certainly continue to improve.
During the Paris Olympics, the Sports Administration will prepare Taiwanese-style hot meals for the athletes. (photos by Jimmy Lin)
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
