Hong Kong’s fencing champion Vivian Kong Man-wai has announced on Sunday, August 4 that she will be retiring from professional fencing. The 30-year-old has recently made her mark in history by winning Hong Kong’s first-ever Olympics gold medal for the women’s individual epée at the 2024 Paris Games.
Through her athletic career, Kong has been in three Olympics, and has won multiple accolades in world championships and the Asian games. Speaking to the media, she expresses gratitude for having had the chance to dedicate almost 20 years of her life to the sport. Looking ahead, Kong will launch her own charity or social enterprise with the $6 million reward given to her by the Hong Kong Jockey Club grant for her Olympics medal.
“I want to learn, grow, and give back to Hong Kong [...] I look forward to starting a new career and work towards having my own charity to help kids find joy and playfulness back into sports,” she posts on social media.
Kong’s decision may also have taken her health into consideration, as the athlete had suffered serious injuries to her anterior cruciate ligaments in 2017 and 2019, and had undergone two surgeries for the sake of this taxing sport.
While Hongkongers will miss seeing her star shine on the global stage, no one can deny that ending things on a high note is a move worthy of a queen. After all, in Kong’s own words, “I will miss my fencing family so so much, but once a fencer, always a fencer!”
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