Edgar Cheung Ka-long (Chinese: 張家朗; Jyutping: zoeng1 gaa1 long5; born 10 June 1997) is a Hong Kong left-handed foil fencer, two-time individual Asian champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 individual Olympic champion.[1]

Edgar Cheung ka long 張家朗
Personal information
Born	(1997-06-10) 10 June 1997 (age 25) British Hong Kong
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Sport
Country	Hong Kong, China
Sport	Fencing
Weapon	Foil
Hand	Left-handed
Club	Hong Kong Sports Institute
Head coach	Grégory Koenig
FIE ranking	1
Domestic ranking	1
Medal record Men's foil Representing  Hong Kong Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Individual Foil World Championships 2022 Cairo Individual Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Team Foil 2014 Incheon Team Foil 2018 Jakarta Individual Foil Asian Championships 2016 Wuxi Individual Foil 2022 Seoul Individual Foil 2017 Hong Kong Individual Foil 2018 Bangkok Team Foil 2019 Chiba Individual Foil 2014 Suwon Team Foil 2015 Singapore Individual Foil 2015 Singapore Team Foil 2016 Wuxi Team Foil 2017 Hong Kong Team Foil 2019 Chiba Team Foil Junior World Championships 2017 Plovdiv Individual Foil

Cheung is the first athlete representing Hong Kong in history to win an Olympic gold medal in fencing and the second to become an Olympic champion.[2][3]

Career

Cheung Ka Long was born to parents who both played national league basketball in Hong Kong. He took up fencing in the fourth grade. In 2013, he was named Hong Kong's Most Promising Young Athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. In 2014, he was named an Outstanding Junior Athlete by the Hong Kong Sports Institute;[4] he won a bronze in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships and at the Asian Games that same year. In 2015, he earned two bronzes, one in individual foil and another in team foil during the Asian Fencing Championships. In 2016, he won gold and a bronze in team in the Asian Fencing Championships. At the Olympics in foil, he defeated Heo Jun in the round of 32 before losing to Guilherme Toldo in the round of 16, finishing 14th overall.[5] In 2017, Cheung won gold in individual foil at the Junior World Championships.[6] He then earned a silver medal in individual foil and a bronze in team foil in the Asian Fencing Championships. In 2018, he won a silver in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships along with a bronze in individual foil and a silver in team foil at the Asian Games. In 2019, he earned a silver medal in the Turin Grand Prix, a bronze in the Anaheim Grand Prix as well as a silver in individual foil and a bronze in team foil at the Asian Fencing Championships.

In 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics, Cheung and Tse Ying Suet were the flag bearers for Hong Kong.[7] In foil, he defeated Julien Mertine in the round of 32, 2018 world champion Alessio Foconi in the round of 16, Kirill Borodachev in the quarterfinals and Alexander Choupenitch in the semifinals. In the final he faced the reigning Olympic champion Daniele Garozzo; after trailing 1–4 he fought back to win by a score of 15–11.[8][9] This was Hong Kong's first Olympic gold medal in fencing and its second-ever gold.[10]

Medal Record

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Event	Position
2021	Tokyo, Japan	Individual Men's Foil	1st[11]

World Championship

Year	Location	Event	Position
2022	Cairo, Egypt	Individual Men's Foil	3rd[12]

Asian Championship

Year	Location	Event	Position
2015	Singapore	Individual Men's Foil	3rd[13]
2016	Wuxi, China	Individual Men's Foil	1st[14]
2017	Hong Kong	Individual Men's Foil	2nd[15]
2017	Hong Kong	Team Men's Foil	3rd[16]
2018	Bangkok, Thailand	Team Men's Foil	2nd[17]
2019	Tokyo, Japan	Individual Men's Foil	2nd[18]
2019	Tokyo, Japan	Team Men's Foil	3rd[19]
2022	Seoul, South Korea	Individual Men's Foil	1st[20]
2022	Seoul, South Korea	Team Men's Foil	3rd[21]

Grand Prix

Date	Location	Event	Position
2019-02-08	Turin, Italy	Individual Men's Foil	2nd[22]
2019-03-15	Anaheim, California	Individual Men's Foil	3rd[23]

World Cup

Date	Location	Event	Position
2017-05-05	St. Petersburg, Russia	Individual Men's Foil	3rd[24]
2017-10-20	Cairo, Egypt	Individual Men's Foil	3rd[25]
2019-05-05	St. Petersburg, Russia	Team Men's Foil	2nd[26]
2020-02-23	Cairo, Egypt	Team Men's Foil	3rd[27]
2022-01-15	Paris, France	Individual Men's Foil	1st[28]

Impact

The term "Ka-long effect" was coined after his historic gold in the Tokyo Olympics. Fencing schools witnessed a surge in calls from parents wanting their kids to take up lessons, as the sport received a huge boost in popularity.[29]

References

External links

• Cheung Ka-long at FIE
• Cheung Ka-long at Olympics.com
• Cheung Ka-long at Olympedia

На других языках

[es] Cheung Ka-Long

[fr] Cheung Ka Long

[it] Cheung Ka Long

[ru] Чён, Эдгар