Tsai Shu-min

Tsai Shu-min (Chinese: 蔡 淑敏; pinyin: Cài Shūmǐn; born February 4, 1981, in Changhua County) is a retired Taiwanese swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and in individual medley.^[1] She represented Chinese Taipei in two editions of the Olympic Games (1996 and 2000), and later earned four medals in swimming, including her first ever gold, at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tsai Shu-min

Personal information
Full name	Tsai Shu-min
National team	Chinese Taipei
Born	(1981-02-04) 4 February 1981 (age 43) Changhua County, Taiwan
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, backstroke, medley
Medal record Women's swimming Representing Chinese Taipei Asian Games 1998 Bangkok 200 m freestyle 1998 Bangkok 400 m freestyle 1998 Bangkok 4×100 m freestyle 1998 Bangkok 4×200 m freestyle

In this Chinese name, the family name is Cai.

Tsai made her first Chinese Taipei team, as a 15-year-old teen, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. There, she failed to reach the top 16 final in any of her individual events, finishing fortieth in the 100 m freestyle (58.65), thirty-fourth in the 100 m backstroke (1:11.44), and forty-first in the 200 m individual medley (2:28.71).^[2][3][4] A member of the Chinese Taipei team, she placed eighteenth in the 4×100 m freestyle relay (3:56.39), nineteenth in the 4×200 m freestyle relay (8:27.61), and twenty-fourth in the 4×100 m medley relay (4:38.90).^[5][6][7]

Two years later, at the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia, Tsai narrowly missed the podium by a hundredth of a second (0.01) in the 200 m freestyle at 1:59.93.^[8] On that same year, she captured the 200 m freestyle title at the Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand with a sterling time of 2:00.89, adding it to three bronze medals from her hardware each in the 400 m freestyle (4:15.66), 4×100 m freestyle relay (3:51.42), and 4×200 m freestyle relay (8:18.92).^[9][10]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Tsai competed only in a freestyle double. She achieved FINA B-standards of 57.83 (100 m freestyle) and 2:03.33 (200 m freestyle) from the National University Games in Taipei.^[11][12] On the third day of the Games, Tsai placed thirty-second in the 200 m freestyle. Swimming in heat three, she faded down the stretch to pick up a seventh seed in 2:06.12, more than three seconds below her entry standard.^[13][14] Two days later, in the 100 m freestyle, Tsai posted a time of 59.39 to overhaul a minute barrier in the same heat, but fell short to forty-sixth overall on the morning prelims.^[15][16]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
2. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
3. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
4. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
5. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
6. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
7. (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
8. "1998 FINA World Championships (Perth, Australia): Women's 200m Freestyle Final" (PDF). USA Swimming. p. 7. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
9. "Chinese Taipei Takes Women's 200m Freestyle in Asian Games". People's Daily. 8 December 1998. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
10. Chang, Linda (25 December 1998). "Record haul of medals by ROC athletes at Asian Games". Government Information Office. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
11. "Swimming – Women's 100m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 3)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
12. "Swimming – Women's 200m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 3)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
13. (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 183. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
14. "Malchow sets Olympic record in 200 fly". Canoe.ca. 18 September 2000. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
15. (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 175. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
16. "Results from the Summer Olympics – Swimming (Women's 100m Freestyle)". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)