Taiwan’s artistic gymnast Lee Chih-kai won a silver in the men’s pommel horse at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, clinching Taiwan’s first Olympic medal in gymnastics.
The 25-year old gymnast scored a 15.4, just a bit behind UK gymnast Max Whitlock who got a 15.583. The gold medalist’s higher score was due to his more difficult routine. Lee received a 6.7 while Whitlock got 7.0 in the routine's difficulty rating. Lee however scored an 8.7 for execution while Whitlock scored an 8.583 in execution.
Lee is known as the Pommel Horse King in Taiwan. He was born in Yilan County and first rose to fame in Taiwan when he was featured in the award-winning gymnastics documentary “Jump! Boys” in 2005.
He began learning gymnastics when he was six years old. When he was a boy, his nickname was “Market Kai” because he would do gymnastic moves to attract customers to his parents’ vegetable stall at the traditional market.