【Features of National Intercollegiate Athletic Games 2014】

Looking into the Furthest Distance- Final 30 Metres

The playground glitters when sun shines on in the morning light. The sensational Track and Field Event is about to begin. The Women’s Track and Field 10000 metres draws the most attention as a real cliffhanger. Shi, Zheng-Xin from the Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University takes a lead after the starting gun is fired. She is expected to break the event record in the last 15 laps (the record has remained unbroken since 1989).

Shi keeps her speed up all the way, and laps the other athletes again and again. In the final two laps, she is already ahead of Fu, Yu from the National Chiao Tung University who is currently in second place. Suddenly, the unexpected happens; Shi speeds up much to Fu’s surprise. It seems like she is failing in the final 200 metres. In the last 100 metres, after running for more than 40 minutes, she becomes mired in difficulties from the long-distance running, and slows down gradually due to myasthenia in her four limbs. At this moment, all the audience roots for her. So, she bears the pains and pushes on. She finally collapses to the ground, just 30 metres away from the finish. Finally, she is carried away by the nurses from the track and marked as “non-finishing”.

  Shi won Silver in the 1500 metres and Gold in the 5000 metres at the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games last year. She broke both event records. Her coach, Wang, Yao-Tsong who was also a National Javelin competitor before, stated with a tinge of emotion that Shi is highly disciplined and always trained hard by herself, by joining the association of long-distance running. This was her last chance to compete with others this year. In order to turn defeat into success, she practiced diligently despite her injuries. It’s such a pity that she lost her Gold medal within the last 30 metres.