Profile | Paris Olympics: who is fencer Vivian Kong? Hong Kong’s latest gold medallist has been chasing history since she was 11
- An only child and obsessive student, the world No 1 épéeist had won medals everywhere except the Olympics – until now
![Vivian Kong bursts into tears after after beating Auriane Mallo-Breton of France in the gold medal bout of the women’s individual epee at Paris Olympics. Photo: EPA-EFE](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/28/41307548-1ea4-4151-865b-44941a7c636c_392e6a2f.jpg?itok=V4hcTz8_&v=1722111570)
Hong Kong épéeist Vivian Kong Man-wai had been on the podium for every major tournament in which she had competed, except the Olympics – until now.
On Saturday, the women’s world No 1 made history by becoming only the third Hongkonger to have Olympic gold draped around her neck.
Windsurfer Lee Lai-shan was the first at Atlanta 1996 and fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long struck gold in Tokyo in 2021.
But Kong’s medal, Hong Kong’s first at the Paris Olympics, came with added significance, because it was the first time that the city had secured a podium finish at two consecutive Games.
A flag bearer for the city’s delegation at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018, the 30-year-old has long been one of the city’s best, but Paris was third time lucky after journeys to both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 both turned out to be fruitless ones.
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