Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Yang Chun-han, dubbed the fastest man in Taiwan, on Thursday won the country's first-ever gold medal in a men's running event at a Universiade, after finishing first place in the men's 100-meter dash at the Taipei Universiade.
Yang clocked 10.22 seconds to grab the gold medal, beating South African sprint star Thando Roto, who claimed silver with 10.24 seconds, and the United States' Cameron Burrell, who took bronze with a time of 10.27 seconds.
Earlier in the evening, Yang ran 10.20 seconds to finish top in his group at the semi-finals, achieving his personal best time and breaking Taiwan's national record of 10.22 seconds that he set in May.
Yang's victory on Thursday makes him the first male athlete and the second person in Taiwan's history to win a gold medal at a running event in a Universiade.
The first person was former track and field athlete Wang Huei-chen, who won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter sprint at the 1991 Summer Universiade in Sheffield, the United Kingdom.
In a press conference after his historic win Thursday, Yang said he wanted to compete immediately in the finals following his record-breaking results in the semi-finals.
"I was very excited. I was waiting for the finals every second, and was getting a little impatient. My hands were shaking in the resting area," said the 20-year-old student from National Taiwan University of Sport.
Yang said the contender he most wanted to defeat was Japanese sprinter Shuhei Tada, who finished seventh on Thursday with a time of 10.33 seconds.
"I wanted to beat a Japanese athlete because I feel that Taiwanese athletes are not second to Chinese, Japanese or South Korean athletes," he said. "I wanted to achieve something for Taiwan."
The sprinter from eastern Taiwan's Hualien said when he joined the 2015 Gwangju Universiade, he was still a high school student who did not know what he could do for his country.
This year, however, he wanted to win a gold medal, even though he only kept this dream in his heart, Yang said.
When asked who he hopes to attribute his win to, Yang said so many images flashed through his mind when he won the gold medal.
"I thought of the people who spoke to me at crucial moments and the people who helped and encouraged me during difficult times," he said, adding that there are "too many" people he would like to attribute the win to.
"I got this gold medal for everyone," he said, referring to his teammates, teachers, coaches, family and sports officials.
"Everyone helped me get this gold medal," he said.
