Chi Cheng (born March 15, 1944 in

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The shor ...

) is a Taiwanese

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete. She was an Olympic medalist in 1968 and was named the

Associated Press Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award t ...

for 1970. She was a former pentathlete turned sprinter.

Biography

Chi studied on the college level at the

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

(Cal Poly Pomona) in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, where she received most of her athletic training. As a student there, she won four U.S. national championships and over a two-year period was the winner of 153 of the 154 events she entered. Representing the Republic of China, she ran in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Olympics, then won the bronze medal in the women's 80-meter hurdles in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and finished 7th in the 100 metre final. In 1969, she broke three world records. In 1970, she broke or tied five world records, accomplishing 3 in the space of just one week. She was first woman to run 10.0 second for 100 yards. She also ran world bests of 11.0 for 100 metres, 22.4 for 200 metres, 22.6 for 220 yards, and 12.8 for 100 metre hurdles. She won the gold medal in the 100 metres at the Asian Games in Bangkok in a games record time. While leading in the 400 metres at the Asian Games when she suffered a severe leg cramp at 330 metres, which eventually led to a career ending injury. She was ranked number one in the world for 100 metres and 200 metres, second in the 400 metres and third in 100 metres hurdles in 1970 and was undefeated in 69 races that season. For her achievement, Chi Cheng was named the

. Also, she became the Director of Women's Athletics at the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...

, California, from 1974 to 1976. Chi naturalised as a U.S. citizen, but later returned to Taiwan. She was appointed the Secretary-General of the Republic of China Track and Field Association in 1977. Subsequently, she was Chairman until 1993 and Board Member from 1998 to 1999. Chi won three terms as a member of the Legislative Yuan, serving from 1981 to 1989. She was appointed a National Policy Advisor by President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

in 2009, which required her to renounce her U.S. citizenship in order to take the position. Ma's successor,

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

, retained Chi as an advisor. Chi stated in 2018 that Taiwanese people should be allowed to vote for the name under which Taiwanese athletes compete in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and future sports events, as Taiwanese as sent delegations to the Olympics since 1984 as Chinese Taipei.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chi, Cheng 1944 births Living people Taiwanese female long jumpers Taiwanese female sprinters Taiwanese female hurdlers Taiwanese pentathletes Taiwanese sportsperson-politicians 20th-century Taiwanese women politicians Asian Games gold medalists for Chinese Taipei Asian Games silver medalists for Chinese Taipei Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 Asian Games Olympic athletes of Taiwan Olympic bronze medalists for Taiwan Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Hsinchu Cal Poly Pomona Broncos Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Former United States citizens American female sprinters Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) American female long jumpers Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Senior Advisors to President Ma Ying-jeou Senior Advisors to President Tsai Ing-wen USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners