Vivian Kong
Hong Kong fencer and politician (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vivian Kong Man Wai SBS MH (Chinese: 江旻憓; Jyutping: gong1 man4 wai6; born 8 February 1994) is a Hong Kong politician and former 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]
Canada
Vivian Kong Man-wai | |
|---|---|
Kong in 2024 with her Olympic gold medal | |
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Yiu Pak-leung |
| Constituency | Tourism |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 February 1994 Hong Kong |
| Citizenship | China (Hong Kong) Canada |
| Sports career | |
| Nickname | Smiling Queen of Fencing (微笑劍后)[1][2][3] |
| Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) |
| Sport | Fencing |
Event | Épée |
Turned pro | 2013 |
| Coached by | Octavian Zidaru |
Medal record | |
| Kong Man Wai | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 江旻憓 | ||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | gōng màhn waih | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
After retiring from fencing, Kong has become a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the Tourism constituency since 2026.
Early life
Kong was born in Hong Kong during British colonial rule, but lived in Canada between the ages of two and six.[7][8] 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".[9]
Education
Kong completed her secondary studies at Sha Tin College and graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.[10] In 2021 she obtained her master of law degree at the Renmin University of China. 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.[11] Kong has taken a sabbatical to prepare for the Olympics and had previously declined an offer to represent Canada.[9]
Career
Fencing
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.[12]
Kong won one of the bronze medals in the Women's épée at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo, Egypt.[13]
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.[14] She was the first Hong Kong athlete to win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.[15]
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".[16] On 6 August, a Facebook post by Raymond Tam announced that Kong would join the Hong Kong Jockey Club to promote sports development.[17]
Politics
On 3 November 2025, Kong filed her candidacy for the Legislative Council for the Tourism Functional Constituency seat in the 2025 elections, one of 12 functional constituencies in the legislature that allow people with the right of abode in a foreign country to take office. She also announced she had applied to renounce her Canadian passport.[18][19]
She won the Legislative Council election through Tourism functional constituency with 131 votes in December 2025.[20]
Medal record
Olympic Games
World Championship
Grand Prix
World Cup
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-07-02 | Leipzig, Germany | Individual Women's Épée | 3rd[28] |
| 2016-05-20 | Legnano, Italy | Individual Women's Épée | 3rd[29] |
| 2018-01-19 | Havana, Cuba | Individual Women's Épée | 3rd[30] |
| 2018-09-11 | Tallinn, Estonia | Individual Women's Épée | 2nd[31] |
| 2019-11-01 | Havana, Cuba | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[32] |
| 2019-08-02 | Barcelona, Spain | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[33] |
| 2019-05-17 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Individual Women's Épée | 3rd[34] |
| 2022-12-10 | Vancouver, Canada | Individual Women's Épée | 2nd[35] |
| 2023-05-19 | Fujairah, United Arab Emirates | Individual Women's Épée | 2nd[27] |
| 2024-02-10 | Barcelona, Spain | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[27] |
| 2024-05-18 | Fujairah, United Arab Emirates | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[36] |
Asian Championship
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Seoul, South Korea | Team Women's Épée | 3rd |
| 2014 | Suwon, South Korea | Team Women's Épée | 3rd[37] |
| 2015 | Kallang, Singapore | Team Women's Épée | 3rd |
| 2016 | Wuxi, China | Team Women's Épée | 3rd[38] |
| 2017 | Hong Kong, China | Individual Women's Épée | 2nd[39] |
| 2017 | Hong Kong, China | Team Women's Épée | 3rd[39] |
| 2018 | Bangkok, Thailand | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[40] |
| 2018 | Bangkok, Thailand | Team Women's Épée | 2nd[41] |
| 2019 | Chiba, Japan | Team Women's Épée | 3rd[42] |
| 2022 | Seoul, South Korea | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[43] |
| 2022 | Seoul, South Korea | Team Women's Épée | 2nd[44] |
| 2023 | Wuxi, China | Individual Women's Épée | 1st[45] |
| 2023 | Wuxi, China | Team Women's Épée | 2nd[45] |
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Party | Votes received | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Swing | |||||
| 2025 | Legislative Council (Tourism) | Independent | 131 | 85.06% | 1st | N/a | Won | |
