Games History

National Olympic Committee

The fromation of  The Amateur Athletic Association of Hong Kong on the 24 November 1950, which later became recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 7 May 1951 at the IOC session in Vienna was the first step towards Olympic participation. As a result of this recognition by the IOC, Hong Kong sent its first delegation to the Olympic Games in 1952.  Thereafter, in 1952, the Association was renamed the Amateur Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong (ASF&OC) and became the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing Hong Kong.

On July 1st 1997, China regained sovereignty of Hong Kong from Britain at which point the official name of the Hong Kong NOC was modified as the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC).  Between 1952 and 1996, Hong Kong athletes competed under the British Colonial flag.  After 1997 the Hong Kong Team competed under the new Hong Kong SAR Bauhina flag.  Hong Kong Olympian swimmer turned rower, Fenella Gar Loc Ng was honoured with being the first athlete to carry the new Bauhinia flag of the HKSAR at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Games in 2000.

Hong Kong's First Olympians at the Summer Games

Four swimmers represented Hong Kong at the 15th Olympiad held in Helsinki in1952, with the team comprising of two female swimmers, Cynthia Eager and Irene Kam Ngor Kwok, along with two male swimmers, Francisco Monteiro and Cheung Kin Man.  In Helsinki, Cheung recorded a HK record in the 100m Freestyle and qualified for the semi-finals. 

At that time, all HK Olympians were required to hold a British passport.  Since that time, Hong Kong has competed in every Summer Games since 1952, only missing out on the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to a boycott of the Games.

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Joining the Winter Games

2002 marked another milestone for Hong Kong athletes, with two female short-track speed skaters, Christy Ren and Cordia Poo Yee Tsoi,  representing  Hong Kong being the first athletes to represent Hong Kong at the Winter Olympic Games.  

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Hong Kong Medals at the Games

Whilst Hong Kong was awarded a badminton bronze medal as a demonstration sport at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 in mixed doubles (Amy Chan and Chan Chi Choi), it was not until the Atlanta Games in 1996 that Lee Lai Shan (affectionally known as "San San") won Hong Kong’s first Olympic medal, a gold in windsurfing. Her success was followed with a silver medal in Athens Games 2004 through the valiant efforts of the men's table-tennis doubles team of Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching.  Cyclist Sarah Lee Wai Sze then brought home Hong Kong’s first bronze medal at an Olympic Games at the 2012 London Games in the women’s Keirin event and she backed this up 8 years later with another bronze in Tokyo 2020.  

A major breakthrough in Hong Kong Olympic sporting achievements took place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was actually held in the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic delays.  At these Games, fencer Edgar Cheung Ka Long struck gold in the men's Individual Foil event, 25yrs after San San's achievement in Atlanta. Swimmer Siobhan Haughey  powerfully streamlined her way in the pool by clinching 2 silver medals in the 100m and 200m Freestyle event, making her the first Hong Kong Olympian to win 2 medals at one event. Sarah Lee Wai Sze also wrote history by returning to the podium 8 years later with her second bronze medal coming in the Women's Sprint event, after an unlucky crash at the track in Rio 2016.  Karate athlete Grace Lau Mo Sheung captured a bronze medal in the kata event, whilst the women's Table Tennis team comprising of paddlers Doo Hoi Kem, Zhu Chengzhu and Minnie Soo Wai Yan collectively clinched a bronze medal to round up the 6 medal haul for Hong Kong at the Tokyo 2020 Games.