Taiwan’s CrossFitters ‘angry’ they have to carry China’s flag when competing in the CrossFit Open
- Zhu Yusen says he and his compatriots are upset that they compete as China and not Taiwan specifically
- Taiwan’s fittest man for last three years says others have emailed CrossFit Inc. but have received no response
CrossFitters in Taiwan do not want to compete under the Chinese flag, and hope that CrossFit Inc. will change its policy.
“I’m angry with that, but I can’t say something, because I don’t have the choice,” said Zhu Yusen, Taiwan’s fittest man in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Zhu, 24, said he is only “50 per cent” angry but other competitors are far angrier than him.
“My friend has messaged CrossFit HQ, and they didn’t have any feedback. It doesn’t work. I think they [other CrossFitters] are more angry than me. Some will be part of the Open. Without Taiwan’s flag in the Open, some people won’t accept that choice. [They are] very sad and very angry. They say it’s unfair.”
It is not the first time this issue has been raised. Shanghai-based Chen Aichan alleged Taiwanese athlete Ruei Hung Tsai-jui refused to carry the Chinese flag at the 2019 CrossFit Games. In turn, Chen said she was motivated to win the 2020 Open in China, so she could carry her nation’s flag, as a rebuttal to Hung’s refusal.
Taiwanese athlete must represent China under new CrossFit Games rules
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory, although it does not exercise any control over the island. Tensions have ebbed and flow between Taipei and Beijing for decades.
“Anyway, we cannot do anything about it. Taiwanese people say we have to have our flag [in CrossFit]. We are very angry but cannot make the choice,” Zhu said.
Before CrossFit, Zhu competed in taekwondo from the age of eight to 18. But as others grew tall, they gained an advantage over him so he could no longer fight at the top level. He joined the army but did not enjoy it so left after just one year.
In 2017, he started CrossFit. One year later Zhu was Taiwan’s fittest man on the Open rankings.
“Maybe I was lucky. When I was a soldier, I didn’t have that much time. So, when I had a break, maybe two times a week to train, I was more focused on strength. So I had trained so much strength when I first started CrossFit. But from 2017, I could train three times a day and that was very different,” Zhu said.
Zhu loves CrossFit because it is not just weights, but other types of fitness too. Now, he is focused on making it to the CrossFit Games before he turns 30.
“I have six years. I need to train hard, train physically, train mentally and focus on my diet and sleeping. It’s difficult to say how to train mentally: I take it day by day, so I don’t get an injury. But I increase intensity every week,” Zhu said.
“I love sport, I love training and I love competition. I want first place in Taiwan [in the 2022 Open], 100 per cent. I keep going day by day,” Zhu added.
