Unprecedented sports exploration and experience are unlocked at the World Masters Games 2025 Taipei & New Taipei City, with Orienteering kicking off at Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall today (22nd). More than 500 athletes from home and abroad gathered to participate in this event, which requires both wisdom and physical ability. Athletes must use a map and compass to find control points in the cities, making the competition a scavenger hunt and bringing one-of-a-kind fun and challenge to sports.
Unlike traditional racing, orienteering can take place in different environments, such as cities, parks, or even forests. This not only tests participants’ strength but also their sense of direction and instant judgement. Athletes from different domains took part in WMG2025, including renowned author and lifestyle show host Duan Hui-Lin.
Duan was eliminated from the Preliminary Round of Women’s Sprint-40+ today due to mispunch, but WMG2025 very much moved her. She said she was very excited when she saw the slogan “Take on the World” for the first time. “It’s not only a world-class event,” Duan said. “But an opportunity to integrate sports into our lives. Besides, no matter how old you are, everyone can take part, so I must participate in it!” Duan not only goes into the mountain and the ocean while working, she’s also an amateur triathlon athlete with a coach license in cross-country running, being passionate about sports.
It also draws the interest of Deaflympians, who have also registered for the event. Chuang Yung-Chih placed top in the Preliminary Round of Men’s Individual-45+ with 14’04”, easily advancing to the final tomorrow. Chuang was on the Deaflympic national teams in basketball and cycling, and he decided to register when he knew the World Masters Games were going to be held in Taipei and New Taipei City. Chuang said he left the cycling world where he had spent six years practicing, temporarily, and started orienteering two years ago to have more time to take care of his family. Since the 2025 Deaflympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan, in November, he hopes to “warm up” for it through the World Masters Games, but it turned out to be more interesting than he had expected. “It was well organized,” Chuang said. “City orienteering is full of fun, and the organizer carefully avoided the traffic lights as much as they could, and assured the safety of the athletes.”
Another hearing-impaired athlete is Kuo Chia-Mi, the gold medalist in Orienteering at the 2009 Taipei Summer Deaflympics. Before she participated in Orienteering at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall today, she practiced Dragon Boat in the early morning and took part in Discus at Banqiao Stadium, treating one day as three days, as if she were the “Iron Lady.””It’s all my interest!” Kuo said. Kuo said she suffered from several serious injuries in the past years, including an ACL tear in her left knee. “My doctor suggested that I undergo an operation,” Kuo said. “But I refused because I have the World Masters Games to compete in.” Besides the World Masters Games, Kuo still has the IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, in July and the Deaflympics in November. Kuo said she did blame the gods and accuse others when she was little, but she later accepted the fact of her hearing impairment. “We need to listen to the lead conductor when practicing dragon boat,” Kuo shared a touching story. “I could only see with my eyes, but a teammate told me, ‘Let me be your ears,’ and the whole team learned sign language in order to communicate with me. I am so touched by this kind of communication.” These athletes don’t just find the destinations with the maps; they have turned their lives around through sport.
