TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Penghu native and athlete Lin Yu-tang (林昱堂) has become the first from Taiwan to qualify for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

The 23-year-old long jump athlete will compete in the global sporting competition after setting records in the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand in 2023, per CNA. Lin broke the national record for the long jump at the competition, where he leaped 8.4 meters and reached the qualifying standard for the Olympic games.

Lin, who is 175 centimeters tall and weighs less than 60 kilograms, said he began to take the long jump seriously when he moved to Kaohsiung from Penghu for high school. He said his Olympic dreams began when watching the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.

“I knew that I would be able to compete in the games one day,” he said. Lin also appeared confident in his ability to win gold.

“I don’t feel any pressure facing world-class athletes,” he said. “When I arrive at the Olympic sports ground if I have the chance to compete, it will be mine.”

Lin said he also has aspirations for beyond Paris 2024. “I hope I can stand on the podium at the 2026 Asian Games in (Japan’s) Nagoya,” he said.