Chinese Taipei's Women Will Chase a Fifth Straight Outdoor Tug of War World Title in South Africa This Weekend
The Taiwanese squad sent 79 athletes to Mossel Bay across 11 of the 13 categories and trained on hard ground in Pingtung to prepare.
Chinese Taipei's women will bid for a record fifth consecutive world title in the 540kg class when national teams take over the 30th Tug of War World Championships in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on 18 and 19 September 2026. The squad left Taoyuan airport on 12 September, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.
The championships, on South Africa's Garden Route, opened on 16 September with two days of open club competition before the national championship events. The official programme lists the 540kg senior women's class among the afternoon pulls on Saturday, alongside the 640kg senior men and the under-23 men's and women's classes.
At the previous outdoor world championships in Nottingham, England, Chinese Taipei won five golds and two silvers in the championship division, including a fourth straight title in both the women's 500kg and 540kg classes. The team has sent 79 athletes to compete in 11 of this year's 13 categories, the Liberty Times reported.
The new president of the Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association said South Africa was where the Taiwanese women first became world champions, at 500kg in 2010, and that he hoped the players would carry that glory forward. The association's secretary-general said the team held its training camp in Sandimen, Pingtung, because the hardness of the soil there was close to outdoor conditions in South Africa.
This is the third time South Africa has staged the outdoor world championships, according to the association. The International Tug of War Federation has already named Caorle in Italy as the host of the 2027 outdoor world championships.