Taipei: Taiwan successfully defended its senior women's 500-kilogram title for the fifth consecutive year, winning two golds and a bronze at the 2026 Tug of War Outdoor World Championships in South Africa on Friday (local time).
According to Focus Taiwan, the championships are being held in Mossel Bay, South Africa from Wednesday to Saturday. On Friday, the first day of the national team events, Taiwan claimed gold in the senior women's 500-kilogram and junior women's 480-kilogram events, while the men's 600-kilogram team secured a bronze medal.
In a challenging final match of the senior women's 500-kilogram event, Taiwan faced Germany. The first round was tightly contested and lasted four minutes. Taiwan was trailing by just 50 centimeters and was on the brink of losing the round until Germany's third offense allowed Taiwan to take the first round. Buoyed by the initial victory, Taiwan dominated the second round, clinching its fifth consecutive title.
Team leader Hung Ning-hsuan told CNA that Germany appeared stronger this year, which made the final match particularly challenging. She noted that the firm ground at the start of the match facilitated an offensive strategy, but as the soil loosened, Taiwan nearly lost the first round. Despite the pressure, the team maintained morale by encouraging each other, leading to their victory. Hung expressed gratitude to her teammates for their mutual trust during the competition.
Taiwan also defended its title in the junior women's 480-kilogram event for the second year in a row. Deputy team leader of the junior women's team, Wu Pei-hsuan, shared that their team leader participated despite catching a cold before the competition, ultimately leading the team to gold.
Prior to the national-team events, Taiwan had already secured three golds and three bronzes in the open club events on Wednesday and Thursday. Six Taiwanese teams are set to compete on Saturday, the second day of the national-team events.