[font='Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Just before 7:00am, amidst the endlessly green, rolling hills of Walnut, California, the runners--248 in attendance for the "Run Mt. SAC Annual Road Run Series: 5K Kiwanis"--[/font]were greeted at the starting line by Olympian Chi Cheng. Touted "The Greatest Asian Female Sprinter of All-time," Cheng bronzed the 80-meter hurdles in the Summer Olympics of '68; and, in 1970, was named "Athlete of the Year" by the Associated Press.
What's interesting about bringing Chi Cheng to the classroom is not only due to my love of running--something I also attempt to inspire among my own students and the school running club that I have begun--but it also allows the students to see the conflict that continues to exist between Taiwan and China. The Summer Olympics will always remain a current event, one that my students will be visited by as they grow older. Chi Cheng's boycott during the 2008 Olympics may not have been one that many were aware of at the time--at least, I wasn't aware of it--but the fact that she is willing to stand for and represent others who had also felt belittled by China's grasp upon the Taiwanese olympians and the country itself is an important topic. And as time goes by, I do not suppose it will be one that will be swept under the rug. This conflict is not over.
Resources:
* Chi Cheng: http://www.adriansprints.com/2011/08/chi-cheng-greatest-asian-sprinter-of.html
* Cheng Urges Boycott of Olympic Games, Beijinghttp://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/08/02/2003419215
* Cheng takes Bronze, Mexico City Summer Olympics, 1968: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFw2BJQeJ6k
edited by cfahey on 9/16/2014
edited by cfahey on 9/16/2014
edited by cfahey on 9/16/2014
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