Chen Shih-hsin

Chen Shih-hsin began learning taekwondo when she was five years old and achieved fame much earlier than most athletes. She became the champion of the 1994 and 1996 World Cup in Britain. However, she grew tired of living a stressful routine life and, at age 18, she left her family and taekwondo to begin leading a different life. For two and a half years she avoided her family and sold betel nuts in a roadside stall. When her father tried to get her to return home she denied him every time.

Her story is one much like the Prodigal Son. She returned home on her father's birthday, very apologetic and ready to get back into shape and training for taekwondo. She was now 20 years old and more focused after her rebellion. Many other Taiwanese athletes looked down on her for trying to get back in the game, but she worked very hard. Shih-hsin went to Southern Taiwan to compete in the preliminary screening for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, but was disqualified because of her absence from the sport leaving her with no legitimate track record.

This did not stop Chen, but merely fueled her fire to succeed. She went on to compete in the following years and captured a gold medal at the 1999 National Games and another gold medal at the 2001 East Asian Games, which was her first win at an international competition since her return to the sport. She firmly re-established herself as a champion ten days later when she grabbed her third World Cup gold in Vietnam. She states that practicing moves until they become natural helps build confidence. She also trained against male athletes, which she admitted was very painful at times.

The biggest reward for Chen was when she gained Taiwan's first Olympic gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Her family never gave up on her and she believes that it would have never been possible for her to get the gold without their love and support. What I admire most about Chen is that she took time to find herself before going back to her roots. She discovered who she really was and went back to her lost passion and her family to rebuild and spark the fire she once held for taekwondo to watch it burn anew. She is a national hero, as well as a hero after our own hearts.

Chen is a symbol of Taiwanese pride because she won the first gold medal in the Olympics alongside another taekwondo male athlete, Chu Mu-yen. This is important for Taiwan because they want desperately to be seen as an independent nation and not the Republic of China. I believe this is a very big reason why she is viewed as a national hero.