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Hong Kong Olympics star Vivian Kong blows kisses upon arrival home – as it happened

Excited residents welcome home the fencer now dubbed ‘Queen Kong’

Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong blows kisses at fans upon her return from Paris. Photo: SCMP

SCMP Reporters

Published: 5:58am, 1 Aug 2024Updated: 3:02pm, 5 Aug 2024

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Gold medal-winning Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai has received a rapturous welcome on her return home from the Paris Olympics on Thursday morning.

The 30-year-old épéeist, competing at her third Olympics, came back from a six-point deficit to win 13-12 in sudden death against her French opponent and clinch the city’s first gold medal of the 2024 Games on Sunday (Hong Kong time).

Kong, the women’s world No 1, earlier said she did not want to give up without showing the “Hong Kong spirit” when asked how she recovered from being 7-1 down in her bout against Auriane Mallo-Breton.

Follow the Post’s coverage as excited residents welcome home the fencer now dubbed “Queen Kong”, only the third Hongkonger in history to strike Olympic gold.

02:15

Hong Kong’s ‘fencing queen’ Vivian Kong returns home after winning Olympic gold

More from our coverage:

-Is gold medallist Vivian Kong ‘the perfect Hong Kong girl’?

-Vivian Kong’s gold at Paris Games inspires more girls to enrol in Hong Kong fencing schools

-Vivian Kong’s Olympic win can turn fencing into Hong Kong’s signature sport, expert says

-Paris Olympics: Vivian Kong says ‘Hong Kong spirit’ drove her towards gold medal triumph

Reporting by Sammy Heung, Alice Kong, Tom Shuai and Jeffie Lam.