Hong Kong athletes sets off for Paris Olympics as Edgar Cheung and Siobhan Haughey chosen as flag bearers
Hong Kong Free Press
The first batch of Hong Kong athletes has set off for the upcoming Paris Olympics, with fencer Edgar Cheung and swimmer Siobhan Haughey chosen as the delegation’s flag-bearers at the opening ceremony.
Along with the swimming and table tennis athletes, Brian Stevenson, the leader of the delegation, left Hong Kong on Monday ahead of the Olympics’ Friday opening ceremony. The athletes for other sports will set off in the coming days.
“Competing in the Olympic Games is athletes’ greatest dream. Be they an Olympic debutant or a seasoned Olympian, they are our pride…” Stevenson said at the Hong Kong International Airport, adding, “I am joining the whole society to fully back them up as they showcase their excellence to the world.”
Stevenson said Cheung and Haughey, both of whom brought home medals from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, have been selected to be the delegation’s flag-bearers at the opening ceremony. The ceremony will be hosted along Paris’ River Seine on Friday evening.
The 2024 Paris Olympics is set to welcome 6,000 athletes competing in 32 sports. The games will be held from Friday to August 11.
35 Hong Kong athletes in 13 sports
Hong Kong will send 35 athletes to compete in 13 sports. The government announced in early July that the cash incentive awarded to gold medallists would rise to HK$6 million – up 20 per cent from the amount offered at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Among the sports, swimming will see the most number of athletes competing, with seven swimmers qualifying for nine events.
Haughey won two silver medals in Tokyo Olympics, becoming Hong Kong’s first swimmer to place at the Olympics. She will be competing in five events at the Paris Olympics, including the 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre breaststroke races.
Cheung, the fencer, brought home a gold medal at Tokyo Olympics as Hong Kong’s first Olympic champion after the city’s handover to China in 1997. He will compete in the fencing individual foil at the Paris Olympics, while three other Hong Kong fencers will compete in different events.
Apart from swimming and fencing, Hong Kong athletes have qualified for events in windsurfing, sailboat, rowing, table tennis, volleyball, cycling, gymnastics, Taekwondo, Judo, triathlon and athletics.
Hong Kong won a record-breaking haul of one gold, two silver, and three bronze medals at the Tokyo games.
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