(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung won the men’s individual foil event at the Paris Olympics, earning one of the biggest financial rewards an Olympian can get and allowing the Asian financial hub to clinch multiple gold medals in the international tournament for the first time.
Cheung edged out Italy’s Filippo Macchi late Monday in Paris after a close match, defending his title from the Tokyo Olympics. He is only the third fencer in Olympic history to have successfully defended one’s title in the event.
The victory came days after the city’s Vivian Kong defeated France’s Auriane Mallo-Breton to take gold in the individual épée fencing. Both Cheung and Kong are poised to get big paydays as the Hong Kong Jockey Club has agreed to pay HK$6 million ($768,000) to every local athlete winning a gold medal at the Olympics.
But the win didn’t come without controversy as the Italian fencing federation lodged a protest with the International Olympic Committee and the International Fencing Federation after the match, disputing the results.
Separately, swimming star Siobhan Haughey earned a bronze medal in women’s 200-meter freestyle. The next race for Haughey, who sprang to local fame in the Tokyo Olympics after winning two silver medals, will be the heats for the 100-meter freestyle on Tuesday.
Though Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, the teams compete separately in the Olympics.
(Updates with Italian complaint in fourth paragraph.)
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