Chiu Wen Sheng, a junior at the History Department of TKU attended the 2006 National ParaGames held in I-lan County Stadium from 23 to 26 of March in a stormy weather condition. Despite the bad weather, he managed to win two gold medals and two silvers in several track events.

Chiu suffered from visual disability when he was a child, and lost his vision entirely in a sport accident at the junior high school. Yet, such a deprivation did not rob him of his dignity and determination to succeed in life. His colorful college life is a testimony of this conviction. For example, he is the Chair of the Camp for Blind People Student Association, the captain and left-fielder of the TKU baseball team, and he also plays goalball for the visually impaired on an international level by being on the Taiwan’s national goalball team. Chiu enjoys the thrill of competition and is grateful for every such an opportunity that is rendered to him.

Track events for the visually impaired are special in the sense that all athletes require another person to guide them with a string. The purpose of this string and the assistant is to ensure that these athletes could get to the starting and finishing line without any problem. Chiu admitted that he did not practice for any of the events he participated in, but he believes his general excellent fitness level and the simple fact of being young helped him sail through all of them.

The National ParaGames sets no limits on age and this year it attracted over 3,000 athletes from all over the country for various track and field events that included swimming, badminton, tennis, judo, shooting, snooker and even bowling. Each event was divided into 10 categories according to the level of disability. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )