Deemed the “Queen of Judo,” two-time Olympic athlete Lien Chen-ling (連珍羚) will compete for Taiwan in her third games at the Paris Olympics this year.
After a disappointing performance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, in which she was eliminated in the first round due to three infractions, Lien says she lost some enthusiasm for the sport. However, a recent victory at the Asian Games late last year reignited her passion. Lien walked away from the competition as the first Taiwanese female athlete to win gold in judo at the Asian Games.
The “firsts” Lien has amassed don’t stop there. After graduating from Yamanashi Gakuin University, she became the first Taiwanese judoka to be recruited to the Komatsu Women’s Judo Team. She won Taiwan’s first international judo gold medal when she participated in the 2015 Grand Prix Budapest, and had the best result of any Taiwanese judo competitor in the Olympics when she placed fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite her trailblazing success, Lien has also had her fair share of injuries while competing internationally, including multiple concussions and a dislocated arm. After confirming her spot in the Paris Olympics, she took to Facebook to share, stating her belief that there is no such thing as failure in life; failure only happens when you give up on a challenge.
Lien enters this Olympic Games ranked 16th in the women’s judo 57kg or less weight class, and is expected to compete two days after the opening ceremony on July 29.