Gold and silver medals for Hong Kong

ANOTHER MEDAL, JUST MINUTES AGO! WOOOHOO! Hong Kong is tiny but world class, with two big Olympic medals: Gold in fencing and silver just now in swimming. Lots more excitement coming up — here’s a two-minute update.

[Transcript of YouTube video: 2m18s] GOLD AND SILVER FOR HONG KONGERS! Good morning – we’re watching the Olympics as I expect most people are.

I didn’t manage to get a ticket but I did get the souvenir programme so I can keep you in touch with what’s going on. Everyone in Hong Kong is celebrating Cheung Ka-long, the fencer [gold winner]. He went to Ying Wa College, which is probably the oldest school in Hong Kong. It started in 1818, in Malacca, and then moved to Hong Kong in 1843.

It’s a real east-west school: I’ve spoken there several times, the kids are great.Edgar Cheung Ka-long always stood out, not just because of his athletic prowess but because of his size: he is 6 ft 4, which is very tall for a Hong Kong person – well, it’s very tall for a human person, but especially for Hong Kong people, who tend to be compactly built.

Also getting deserved attention is Siobhan Haughey [silver winner] from the swim team. (Here’s the swim team: some amazing people there.) Despite her name, she is a real Hong Konger, she speaks Cantonese, and they were both born in 1997, so they grew up with the new Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is very proud of them.People may notice her name, Haughey — does that remind you of anything? It’s actually the name of one of Ireland’s prime ministers and she is distantly related to him.

Coming up is the karate – did you know Hong Kong had a karate team? That’s towards the end of the first week in August.

Other things to look out for – we have a great cycling team – Lee Wai-sze, here, has a particularly amazing story. She grew up in a tiny little public housing flat in Kowloon with her parents and her siblings, all squashed in together, and now she’s a star, and it’s great to see that!

Keep watching the Olympics and let’s hope for more wins for Hong Kong people! Goodbye!