On July 29, 2024 (Paris time), Cheung Ka Long became the first Hong Kong athlete to win consecutive gold in two Olympics. Ka Long overcame strong contenders enroute to his gold in Men’s Individual Foil event, beating Italian fencer Filippo Macchi in a nail-biting final showdown before a roaring crowd at Le Grand Palais in Paris. 

In the thrilling final, Ka Long had started steadily to take a lead to a score of 9 - 6. The scores were equalised later to 10-10, before Macchi edged to an advantage of 13 points. Ka Long then dug deep in his focus and efforts to tie the scores until the match point of 14. The two fencers were so fierce, determined, so closely matched that the decisive point had to be rematched twice before Ka Long finally scored the winning point. It’s been 68 years since a last fencer to retain an Olympic foil title, consecutive gold medals are really precious and hard to come by. 

Ka Long is a student majored in Physical Education & Recreation Management (PERM) at HKBU.