By Ralph Jennings
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) - French parachutist Vincent Reffet would have been lost without street vendor Tsai Zong-yi during the World Games in Taiwan.
Reffet dropped from the skies during competition but found himself blown outside the event venue before a medal-winning drop. That was when Tsai came to the rescue. On a scooter.
"After realising that for three minutes no one had offered the athlete some help, Mr. Tsai decided to approach him and offered him a ride on his scooter to bring him back to the venue," event organisers said in a statement Friday.
"He knew some shortcuts, so he also made sure that Vincent Reffet was back as fast as possible.
"Later on, Reffet won gold in freeflying."
The 2009 World Games has gained a name on anecdotes such as Reffet's. The quirky tales showcase the quadrennial event's offbeat sports and give an insight into life in the obscure host city Kaohsiung, an industrial port in southern Taiwan.
"Kaohsiung's citizens have been very warm," said George Hou, a media instructor at I-Shou University, one of the venues.
"Previously these sports were unknown, but citizens went out and supported them all."
Noise levels from fans bordered on frightening at times, said Hou, adding that foreign athletes got more support than the Taiwanese.
The World Games, an Olympics-sanctioned event, showcases 31 sports that have regional appeal but globally fly under the radar.
Televised in 20 countries, viewers saw mermaid-like swimmers glide down lanes without surfacing in the hunt for finswimming medals. They also saw sword duels and female sumo wrestlers. Korfball and lifesaving also got their 15 minutes of fame.
And when female Brazilian athletes went topless on a Kaohsiung beach, police simply asked them to wear more clothes.
As of Friday, Russia led 97 other countries with 33 World Games medals including 15 golds.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford; If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
