Vivian Kong Explained

Vivian Kong Man-wai
Nickname:Smiling Queen of Fencing (Chinese: 微笑劍后)[1] [2] [3]
Birth Date:8 February 1994
Birth Place:Hong Kong
Sport:Fencing
Event:Épée
Turnedpro:2013
Coach:Octavian Zidaru
Rank:1st
Olympics:Gold medal in Women's épée (2024)
Highestranking:1st (2023)
Height:1.78 m
Weight:66 kg
Show-Medals:yes

Vivian Kong Man Wai (; born 8 February 1994) is a Hong Kong left-handed épée fencer. A three-time individual Asian champion and three-time Olympian, she won gold in women's individual épée at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.[4] [5] [6]

Early life

Kong was born in Hong Kong but lived in Canada between the ages of two and six.[7] Before taking up fencing, she variously forayed into ballet and taekwondo. She started fencing at the age of eleven and chose épée, stating it "combined the speed of taekwondo and the grace of ballet".[8]

Education

Kong completed her secondary studies at Sha Tin College and graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.[9] She then pursued a Master of Law at Renmin University of China through correspondence while in Hong Kong. As of 2024, she is studying for a Juris Doctor degree at the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and aspires to work for the United Nations.[10] Kong has taken a sabbatical to prepare for the Olympics and had previously declined an offer to represent Canada.

Career

Kong competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She became the first fencer from Hong Kong to win a World Cup title when she won the FIE Women's Épée World Cup in Havana, Cuba in January 2019.[11]

Kong won one of the bronze medals in the Women's épée at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo, Egypt.[12]

In the women's épée event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Kong defeated Olena Kryvytska in the quarterfinals and Nelli Differt in the semifinals. In the finals, she overcame a 1–7 deficit against Auriane Mallo to win 13–12, securing Hong Kong's third-ever Olympic gold medal.[13]

On 4 August 2024, Kong announced on Instagram that she would retire from professional fencing and stated that she looks forward to pursuing a "new career".[14] On 6 August, a Facebook post by Raymond Tam announced that Kong would join the Hong Kong Jockey Club to promote sports development.[15]

Political views

After Kong's Olympic medal win, her master's thesis on the politics of Hong Kong after the 2014 "Occupy Central" protests, 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and subsequent government crackdowns published at the Renmin University of China garnered controversy.[16] [17] [18] Kong's paper was circulated on LIHKG, an online forum that was popular with pro-democracy protestors.

In her thesis, titled "Occupy Central and Its Effects on Hong Kong Election Reform", Kong argued that the Chinese Communist Party's "patriots-only" electoral overhaul of Hong Kong, which greatly reduced directly elected seats and vetted all political candidates for their "patriotism", corrected the city's trajectory. She wrote that "anti-Chinese disrupters" twisted the concept of "one country, two systems" and exploited elections to enter the political system, which resulted in a constitutional crisis.

According to Kong, the protests revealed that the people of Hong Kong held misconceptions about the One Country, Two Systems constitutional principle, which include a tendency to place international human rights covenants over the Hong Kong Basic Law, and an over-emphasis on "two systems". She was critical of the pro-democracy protests, writing that "Hong Kong's chaos and illegal acts in recent years to pursue so-called genuine universal suffrage had already posed a threat to national security" and that the use of protests to "threaten" or bargain with authorities was because Beijing had compromised on occasions. Kong dismissed "genuine universal suffrage" in Hong Kong with international standards as a "psuedo-proposition", citing a UN position that it is each country's right to choose how to conduct elections.

Convenor of the Executive Council Regina Ip dismissed Kong's critics as "fawning puppets" of external powers, whose "rabid attacks" come from those living overseas to evade the legal consequences of undermining national security.[19]

Kong was a member of The Y. Elites Association, a pro-Beijing youth organization associated with the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party.[20] [21] [22]

Impact

Following Kong and Cheung Ka Long's gold-medal victories at the 2024 Olympic Games, fencing schools in Hong Kong reported a significant increase in public interest.[23] This was predominantly driven by parents seeking opportunities for their children, though a portion of enquiries also came from adults.[24]

Medal record

World Championship

YearLocationEventPosition
2019 Budapest, HungaryIndividual Women's Épée3rd[26]
2022 Cairo, EgyptIndividual Women's Épée3rd[27]

Grand Prix

DateLocationEventPosition
2017-05-26 Bogotá, ColombiaIndividual Women's Épée2nd[28]
2023-01-29 Doha, QatarIndividual Women's Épée3rd[29]
2023-05-07 Cali, ColombiaIndividual Women's Épée1st[30]
2024-01-31 Doha, QatarIndividual Women's Épée1st[31]

World Cup

DateLocationEventPosition
2014-07-02 Leipzig, GermanyIndividual Women's Épée3rd[32]
2016-05-20 Legnano, ItalyIndividual Women's Épée3rd[33]
2018-01-19 Havana, CubaIndividual Women's Épée3rd[34]
2018-09-11 Tallinn, EstoniaIndividual Women's Épée2nd[35]
2019-11-01 Havana, CubaIndividual Women's Épée1st[36]
2019-08-02 Barcelona, SpainIndividual Women's Épée1st[37]
2019-05-17 Dubai, United Arab EmiratesIndividual Women's Épée3rd[38]
2022-12-10 Vancouver, CanadaIndividual Women's Épée2nd[39]
2023-05-19 Fujairah, United Arab EmiratesIndividual Women's Épée2nd[40]
2024-02-10 Barcelona, SpainIndividual Women's Épée1st[41]
2024-05-18 Fujairah, United Arab EmiratesIndividual Women's Épée1st[42]

Asian Championship

YearLocationEventPosition
2011 Seoul, South KoreaTeam Women's Épée3rd
2014 Suwon, South KoreaTeam Women's Épée3rd[43]
2015 SingaporeTeam Women's Épée3rd
2016 Wuxi, ChinaTeam Women's Épée3rd[44]
2017 Hong Kong, ChinaIndividual Women's Épée2nd[45]
2017 Hong Kong, ChinaTeam Women's Épée3rd[46]
2018 Bangkok, ThailandIndividual Women's Épée1st[47]
2018 Bangkok, ThailandTeam Women's Épée2nd[48]
2019 Chiba, JapanTeam Women's Épée3rd[49]
2022 Seoul, South KoreaIndividual Women's Épée1st[50]
2022 Seoul, South KoreaTeam Women's Épée2nd[51]
2023 Wuxi, ChinaIndividual Women's Épée1st[52]
2023 Wuxi, ChinaTeam Women's Épée2nd[53]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dimsumdaily Hong Kong . 2024-07-28 . Olympic champion Vivian Kong's vegetarian diet fuels her journey to gold . 2024-08-01 . Dimsum Daily . en-US.
  2. Web site: 2024-08-01 . 「微笑劍后」江旻憓凱旋歸港 稱冀與更多人分享喜悅 . 2024-08-01 . on.cc東網 . zh-hk.
  3. Web site: 吳慕兒 . 2024-07-28 . 江旻憓奧運奪金｜微笑劍后笑與淚交織港隊首金 真情流露傻話連篇 . 2024-08-01 . 香港01 . zh-HK.
  4. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  5. Web site: Fencing Results Book. 2018 Asian Games. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200508184225/http://www.ocagames.com/orb/files/4/78/AG2018_OfficialResultBook_Fencing_v1.0.pdf. 8 May 2020. 8 May 2020.
  6. Web site: Vivian Kong . 6 August 2016 . Rio 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160806064448/https://www.rio2016.com/en/athlete/man-wai-vivian-kong . 6 August 2016 .
  7. News: Chan . Mike . Paris Olympics: who is fencer Vivian Kong? Hong Kong's latest gold medallist has been chasing history since she was 11 . 29 July 2024 . South China Morning Post.
  8. Web site: 2019-02-12 . 重劍女神江旻憓 穿梭於跆拳道與芭蕾舞之間 - 明周文化 . 2024-07-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190212070453/https://www.mpweekly.com/culture/%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83/20190107-6979 . 12 February 2019 .
  9. Web site: Vivian Kong . 2024-08-03 . Stanford Cardinal - Official Athletics Website . en-US.
  10. Web site: Standard . The . A winner on, off the piste . 2024-07-29 . The Standard . en.
  11. News: Fencing star Vivian Kong makes history for Hong Kong by taking gold at World Cup in Cuba. 13 January 2019. South China Morning Post/Sports. 13 January 2019.
  12. News: Lloyd . Owen . 18 July 2022 . Szilágyi and Song take historic wins at Fencing World Championships . . 18 July 2022.
  13. News: Paris Olympics day 1: Vivian Kong takes sensational gold in women's epee . 27 July 2024 . South China Morning Post . 27 July 2024 . en.
  14. Web site: 星島日報 . 2024-08-04 . 巴黎奧運︱江旻憓宣布告別全職劍擊運動員生涯 盼新職業發展回饋香港 . 2024-08-04 . std.stheadline.com . zh-Hant-HK.
  15. Web site: Olympic fencing gold medallist Vivian Kong to join Hong Kong Jockey Club. James. Lee. Hong Kong Free Press. 7 August 2024. 7 August 2024.
  16. Web site: Cheung . Elizabeth . 2024-08-03 . Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong's academic paper sparks debate after Olympic win . 2024-08-04 . South China Morning Post . en.
  17. Web site: 潘耀昇 . 2024-08-03 . 江旻憓碩士論文曝光｜談佔中禍害極大 改選制令政治生態復平衡 . 2024-08-04 . . zh-HK.
  18. Web site: 溫曉平 . 2024-08-03 . 江旻憓被質疑親共立場後 宣布告別運動員生涯 . 2024-08-04 . . zh-HK.
  19. Web site: Liu . Oscar . 2024-08-04 . Exco's Regina Ip takes up sword for Hong Kong Olympic fencing queen Vivian Kong . 2024-08-04 . South China Morning Post . en.
  20. Web site: 2024-08-03 . 江旻憓奪金獲內地母校恭賀 碩士論文題目與「一國兩制」制度優勢有關 . 2024-08-04 . . zh-Hant-HK.
  21. Web site: 2024-08-04 . Hong Kong's Olympic triumphs overshadowed by political tensions . 2024-08-04 . Kyodo News.
  22. Web site: 香港菁英會 . 菁英會簡介 . 香港菁英會 . zh-Hant-HK.
  23. Web site: 劍校查詢急增 「旻憓效應」料吸女生 - 20240731 - 要聞 . 2024-08-01 . 明報新聞網 - 每日明報 daily news . zh-hant.
  24. Web site: 2024-07-30 . 巴黎奧運．香港代表｜江旻憓張家朗奪金效應 劍擊學校查詢數字急增 . 2024-08-01 . Yahoo News . zh-Hant-HK.
  25. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website . 2024-07-28 . INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  26. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  27. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website . 2022-07-18 . INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  28. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  29. Web site: Grand Prix du Qatar. 30 Jan 2023. engarde-service.
  30. Web site: Epee Grand Prix Senior Women's Épée. 8 May 2023. engarde-service.
  31. Web site: KONG Man Wai Vivian's Profile. 1 February 2022. FIE.
  32. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  33. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  34. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  35. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  36. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  37. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  38. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  39. Web site: Vancouver World Cup Senior Women's Épée. 11 December 2022. fencingtimelive.
  40. Web site: KONG Man Wai Vivian's Profile. 1 February 2022. FIE.
  41. Web site: KONG Man Wai Vivian's Profile. 1 February 2022. FIE.
  42. Web site: World Cup Epee Women's Fujairah UAE. 19 May 2024. fencingtimelive.
  43. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  44. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  45. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  46. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  47. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  48. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  49. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 5 April 2021. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  50. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website. 11 June 2022. INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  51. Web site: INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website . 2022-06-23 . INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  52. Web site: 2023 Asian Fencing Championships Senior Women's Épée. Fencing Time Live.
  53. Web site: 2023 Asian Fencing Championships Senior Women's Épée. Fencing Time Live.

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