Lin Yu-Ting Wins Taiwan's First Ever Olympic Boxing Gold Medal
Taiwan is taking home a second gold from this year’s Paris Summer Olympic Games, with Lin Yu-ting becoming the country's first-ever gold medalist in the sport.
Transcript
00:00In its very last event at the 2024 Olympics, Team Taiwan has secured its second gold medal
00:06here in Paris.
00:07Boxer Ling Yuting beat Polish opponent Yulia Zheremeta in the women's featherweight finals
00:12on Saturday.
00:14Like all of her other matches here at the Paris Games, Ling won by unanimous decision.
00:19She had a clear height and reach advantage over Zheremeta and struck with a flurry of
00:23jabs and uppercuts.
00:25Ling is not only the first-ever Taiwanese boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, she's
00:42also the first-ever Taiwanese boxer to make it into an Olympic gold medal match.
01:09Ling's rise to the top of the podium was dogged by questions over her gender eligibility.
01:14The controversy started when she failed an undisclosed test by the International Boxing
01:18Association in 2023.
01:20That's an organization that was stripped of its role as the governing body of Olympic
01:24boxing last year after a series of scandals.
01:28But despite being cleared to compete by the Olympics committee, it didn't stop speculation
01:32about her gender.
01:33One of Ling's biggest critics throughout this controversy has been J.K.
01:36Rowling.
01:37J.K.
01:38Rowling's coach had some words for the writer after the gold medal match.
01:47Ling is not a transgender woman.
01:49She was born female at birth, and both the Taiwanese government and the International
01:53Olympic Committee have come out in support of her.
01:56Ling has said that blocking out the noise is part of being an athlete.
02:15And Taiwan's sports administration head says that Team Taiwan will invite Ling to be the
02:19female flag bearer at the Olympic closing ceremony, an offer that Ling has accepted.
02:39With the addition of Ling's gold medal, Team Taiwan has tied for its highest Olympic gold
02:44medal count at two here in Paris.
02:46The last time Taiwan won two gold medals at the Olympics was in Tokyo in 2021 and Athens
02:51in 2004.
02:53Team Taiwan ends the Paris Olympic Games with seven medals, that's two gold and five bronze.
02:59Howard Zhang, Leon Lin and Leslie Liao in Paris, France for Taiwan Plus.