Cover Learn more about Hong Kong’s newly crowned Olympic fencing gold medalist, Cheung Ka-long (Photo: @cheungkalongggg/Instagram)
Learn more about Hong Kong’s newly crowned Olympic fencing gold medalist, Cheung Ka-long (Photo: @cheungkalongggg/Instagram)
1 / 1
Hong Kong’s fencer Cheung Ka-long successfully defended his title at the Paris Olympics 2024 and won the city’s second gold medal. As the athlete is writing Hong Kong’s history, here’s everything you need to know about him
Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long’s triumph at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 was already historic, but he did it again! In the men’s individual foil event on the third day of the Paris Olympics, he edged out Italy’s Filippo Macchi with a score of 15-14, while the bronze medal was claimed by Nick Itkin from the United States.
Cheung not only successfully defended his title at the Games and won Hong Kong’s second gold medal, but he also became the third fencer since 1956 to win consecutive gold medals in foil at this sporting event.
As you celebrate his victory, here are seven things you should know about the Olympic fencing champion who’s making Hong Kong’s history
Read more: All the highlights and medals won by Hong Kong athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics
He comes from an athletic family
The pursuit of greatness in sports runs in Cheung’s blood. Born into an athletic family, he had inherited talents from his parents, who both played national league basketball in China and Hong Kong. Cheung’s dad was originally hoping to train his son to be a basketball star when he was young, but he soon discovered Cheung’s passion for fencing after taking him to a lesson.
As a result of his hard work and support from the family, Cheung was able to gain exposure to large competitions, earning quite a lot of athletic achievements at a very young age.
You might also like: Tatler community celebrates Vivian Kong, Hong Kong’s Olympic fencing champion
He became a full-time athlete at the age of 15
Cheung was studying at elite schools including Ying Wa College and Lam Tai Fai College before becoming a full-time athlete. When he was at Form 4, at just 15 years old, he participated in the 2014 Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in Amman, Jordan, with the Hong Kong Fencing Team, and even secured some historic achievements, including gold medals in individual and team foil, in both junior and cadet categories.
After completing the Championships, Cheung decided to quit his studies to solely focus on playing fencing, preparing himself for an athletic career.
He has a number of elite-level awards under his belt
Currently ranked number 19th in the world, Cheung is expected to receive a career-high ranking after his win at the Tokyo Games. But prior to winning the Olympic gold medal, Cheung is already a top Hong Kong fencer who has been recognised for his talent and dedication. In addition to the above-mentioned awards at the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in Amman, the fencing talent also won a bronze medal in team foil at the 2014 Icheon Asian Games, a silver medal and bronze medal in team foil and individual foil respectively at the 2018 Jarkata Asian Games.
He also won a gold medal in individual foil at the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships and was even named Hong Kong’s Most Promising Athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards ceremony in 2016. At that time, he was only 18 years old.
In the last Games in Rio 2016, Cheung finished 11th in the round of 16. Although he didn’t make it to the final, he already made history by being the first fencing athlete from Hong Kong to enter the second round in the Olympics.
You might also like: You might also like: Meet the Hong Kong athletes who have qualified for Paris Olympics 2024
He’s been a flag bearer for Hong Kong at Tokyo Olympics 2020 and the Paris Olympics 2024
Above Cheung Ka-long was a flag bearer for both the Tokyo and the Paris Olympics (Photo: Getty Images)
Cheung Ka-long was a flag bearer for both the Tokyo and the Paris Olympics (Photo: Getty Images)
1 / 1
In 2020, Cheung was chosen to be a flag bearer for Team Hong Kong at the Tokyo Games along with badminton player Tse Ying-suet, leading the other Hong Kong athletes into the opening ceremony.
He had the chance to live the experience again for the Paris Olympics with swimming star Siobhan Haughey. And if you missed the ceremony, check out our article about the best moments of the night here.
His winning streak continued after Tokyo Olympics
Since the Tokyo Olympics, Cheung has competed in two World Championships, where he placed third in individual men’s foil category in 2022, and third in team men’s foil event in 2023.
This year has also been a good one for the athlete, who won first place at the Shanghai Foil Grand Prix in individual Men’s Foil, as well as the 2024 World Cup in Team Men’s Foil.
The Ka-long effect
Following his historic win at the Tokyo Olympics, the term “Ka-long effect” began to be used around Hong Kong. Indeed, fencing schools around the city witnessed a surge in calls from parents wanting their kids to take up lessons, as the sport received a huge boost in popularity.
He’s a cat lover
Above Cheng Ka-long is a cat lover (Photo: Instagram / @cheungkalongggg)
Cheng Ka-long is a cat lover (Photo: Instagram / @cheungkalongggg)
1 / 1
Cheung loves cats almost as much as he loves fencing, as made evident from his photos shared on his Instagram account (@cheungkalongggg). The Cheung family has a ferret and four cats—three of them are an American shorthair and another one is a Ragdoll. Among them, the athlete's favourite one is undoubtedly Zimba, where he frequently posts pictures and short clips of the fluffy two-year-old American shorthair, and even created a Stories Highlights dedicated to the cat.
