Paris Olympic gold medalist fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai will start a new role at the Hong Kong Jockey Club on Sunday to support the organization’s external affairs.

The 30-year-old three-time Olympian announced her retirement as a professional fencer on Sunday, a week after winning the Olympic gold medal in the women’s individual epee event.

She will be working as the assistant external affairs manager of the HKJC’s corporate affairs division. In her new position, Kong will be involved in programs covering community interest, youth affairs, and sports development, as revealed by Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, the division’s executive director, in a social media post on Tuesday.

Tam said that Kong was attracted by the HKJC’s mission and core values as the city’s biggest charity group. He said he believes that Kong can make the most of her time at HKJC and start a new chapter in her career.

Kong has expressed her charitable intentions. Earlier, in a postmatch interview, when asked how she planned to spend the HK$6 million ($770,000) prize money for winning the gold medal, she said she hoped to use part of it to start a social enterprise or charity fund to help young children learn fencing and see “more children holding this medal”.

In her athletics’ retirement message on social media, Kong said, “l want to learn, grow, and give back to Hong Kong to the best of my abilities. I look forward to starting a new career and work towards having my own charity to help kids find joy and playfulness (in) sports.”

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Tam also said that the HKJC is committed to supporting elite athletes in their training, competitiveness, and career development after retirement. The group has maintained a long-standing relationship with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, where Kong trained.

On Saturday, Kong will be a guest speaker alongside Tam at the Youth Development Summit, a high-profile gathering of local young leaders initiated by the 2023 Policy Address. The summit is funded by the HKJC.

Besides her fencing achievements, Kong is also known for her academic success. She studied international relations at Stanford University in the United States, and obtained her master’s degree in law at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Hong Kong sports competitors have followed a variety of career routes after retiring from sports.

Many remain in the sports field, becoming coaches, like Li Ching, the former 2004 Olympic silver medalist who is now the head coach of Hong Kong’s table tennis team. Some have assumed key roles in sports organizations, such as five-time Olympic cyclist Wong Kam-po, now the chairperson of the Athletes Committee of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.

Some athletes ventured into other fields and found new success. Hong Kong swimmer-turned-singer Alexaus Fong Lik-sun surprised the audience by returning to the sports channel this summer as a TVB correspondent in Paris.

READ MORE: Kong’s 19-year journey to achieve her Olympic fencing gold fulfilled

Swimmer Siobhan Haughey, who won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, bringing her overall Olympic medal haul to four, a Hong Kong record, after two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. The University of Michigan psychology graduate said she intends to become a psychologist.