Taiwanese Elite Runners Pursue the World Stage Through Japan｜Part 2: Tzu-Chieh CHIEN — “Every Step in Overcoming Difficulties Is Learning”

The 2020s
Tzu-Chieh CHIEN

Japan has long been one of Asia’s leading nations in distance running, with its unique ekiden culture and corporate team system. For some Taiwanese runners, Japan became not only a place to compete, but also a place to grow.

Taiwan’s national marathon record still stands at 2:14:35. The mark, set more than 30 years ago by former Japanese corporate team runner Gi-Sheng HSU, remains unbroken today. Now, another Taiwanese athlete is making his mark in Japan: Tzu-Chieh CHIEN, who moved from Taiwan to attend Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi before advancing to Chuo University, has already broken Taiwan’s national records in the 1500m and 5000m. For generations, elite Taiwanese runners have looked to Japan as a pathway to the world stage.

Chuo University, which holds the record for the most overall victories in Hakone Ekiden history with 14 titles, has welcomed CHIEN as one of its newest international students. Last year, he broke Taiwan’s national records in the 1500m (3:45.26) and 5000m (13:48.99), and represented Taiwan at the Asian Athletics Championships.

Behind his decision to study in Japan lies the difference between the running environments in Taiwan and Japan.

His mother, Yu-Fang HSU, represented Taiwan in the marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2015 World Championships. His father, Chao-Wang CHIEN, is a former middle-distance runner who won 10 domestic titles in Taiwan and now works as a track and field coach. Tzu-Chieh CHIEN was born and raised in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

“I started running when I was in either fourth or fifth grade,” CHIEN says. “In 2015, my mother competed at the World Championships in Beijing, and I went there to support her. Watching the atmosphere inside the stadium made me fall in love with track and field.”

“I also played sports like basketball and badminton, but because of my parents’ influence, I always had this desire to break Taiwanese records. That’s why I decided to focus on athletics.”

As an elementary school student, CHIEN approached sprinting “like a game.” But after entering Jen-Wu Senior High School, which combines junior and senior high education, he began training seriously under his father’s guidance.

“My father was a high school coach, so even when I was in junior high school, I trained alongside high school runners,” he says. “Of course there was a gap in ability, but I always wanted to beat the older athletes. When I was in eighth grade, I ran 15:18 for 5000m, improving the Taiwanese junior high school record by almost a minute. At the national junior high school championships, I finished third in the 1500m in my second year and won the title in my third year.”

After graduating from junior high school, CHIEN moved to Japan to attend Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi Prefecture, where he spent three years. By the time he was in eighth grade, he was already among Taiwan’s top runners, and both he and his family believed there were limits to how much he could improve if he stayed in Taiwan.

“In Taiwan, high school races often turn into solo runs,” he says. “I strongly wanted to become faster, and my father encouraged me to study in Japan. I always had the impression that Japan was a powerhouse in long-distance running.”

Growing up, CHIEN watched the Hakone Ekiden on television every year. When he was in seventh grade, he also participated in a training camp in Taiwan attended by Japanese star Suguru OSAKO and had the opportunity to hear him speak in person. Later, after consulting with a Taiwanese study-abroad agency, he enrolled at Sendai Ikuei not as a sports recruit but as a regular student.

During high school, CHIEN not only broke Taiwanese track records, but also competed in the National High School Ekiden as an international student in his final year.

“At first, the language was the hardest part,” he says. “I communicated in English with Kenyan upperclassmen, and my friends taught me Japanese little by little. Every step in overcoming difficulties became a learning experience for me.”

“The biggest thing I gained over those three years was mental growth — how to approach races and prepare psychologically. I’ve heard that some high school runners in Taiwan now see me as their goal, and I can feel the level of Taiwanese running continuing to rise.”

This year, the Asian Games will be held in Nagoya, but CHIEN is already looking beyond that stage.

“First, I want to become an athlete who can compete at the Asian Games in the 1500m,” he says. “After graduation, I want to compete on the world stage. In the future, I also want to challenge the marathon. Running under 2:10 is only the beginning — I want to run even faster.”

*This article was originally published in the July 2026 issue of RUNNERS magazine in Japan and is provided in English for RUNNET.

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