Norwegian triathlete Gustav Iden visited Changhua County over the weekend at the invitation of county Magistrate Wang Hui-mei. Iden soared to fame in Taiwan back in September when he was spotted wearing a hat from the county during a big win.
Gustav Iden became an overnight star in Taiwan when he became the Ironman 70.3 world champion. When he crossed the finish line back in September, he was spotted wearing a hat bearing the name of a temple in central Taiwan’s Changhua County.
No, Iden didn’t have a sponsorship deal. In fact, that he found the hat at all was a matter of pure coincidence. Someone had dropped the hat on a street in Japan, and that’s where Iden found it. He didn’t know where it had come from, but took to wearing it as a kind of good luck charm.
After a photo of him crossing the finish line in the hat went viral, Iden was asked to come to the temple’s home in central Taiwan. He arrived on Friday and has been treated to an array of local delicacies. He’s even been named an honorary citizen of Changhua.