TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Quinlivan Laurence James, the grandfather of Taiwanese-Australian celebrity Hannah Quinlivan (昆凌), arrived Friday (May 16) from Australia to compete in the 2025 World Masters Games (2025雙北世界壯年運動會), a major international multi-sport event for athletes over 35 running from May 17 to 30. Officials noted that James ranks among the competition's most senior decathletes, while acclaimed Taiwanese singer Hsiao Huang-chi (蕭煌奇) will also participate in the games.
The elderly athlete, described by organizers as a lifelong sports enthusiast, enters the competition with impressive credentials, having secured a gold medal at the Evergreen Athletics International Championships in 2024. James has registered for multiple disciplines at the Taipei games, including the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, plus three field events: shot put, discus, and javelin. His remarkable commitment to athletic excellence exemplifies the passionate dedication shared by many World Masters Games participants.
Hsiao, better known to many as one of Taiwan's most successful visually impaired musicians, brings an equally impressive athletic background to the competition as a judo practitioner with a 2nd Dan Black belt qualification. His sporting achievements include representing Taiwan on the international stage, where he captured a Bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in 1994 and secured a 7th-place ranking at the 1996 competition.
The games will officially commence with an elaborate opening ceremony at the recently completed Taipei Dome (台北大巨蛋), the city's largest indoor arena, on Saturday. Organizers have assembled an impressive roster of torchbearers representing Taiwan's sporting excellence, including beloved professional baseball legend Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔), Olympic boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), and Lin You-mou (林友茂), who holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest competitive badminton player. The star-studded event will also feature Golden Horse Award-winning actress Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉) — Taiwan's equivalent of the Oscars — and semiconductor giant Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), who will represent the "technology" sector.
Event organizers highlighted that Huang's selection as a torchbearer represents Taiwan's globally recognized technological achievements and international business connections, reinforcing Taipei's positioning as an innovation hub in Asia. Adding to the games' cultural diversity, popular Taiwanese band Nine One One (玖壹壹), known for their distinctive blend of electronic dance music and Taiwanese dialect lyrics, will compete in the tug-of-war competition, bringing celebrity participation beyond the ceremonial roles. ◼